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HYPNOTHERAPY FOR BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT

CHAPLAIN PAUL G. DURBIN, PH.D.

DEDICATIONS: I dedicate this book to the memory of my father;

Reverend B.P. Durbin (1903-1983) and fellow hypnotherapist; Dr. J. A
AMach@ McMurtrey, Dr. Gaspare ABuddy@ Birbiglia, Dr. Arthur Winkler,
Dr. R. D. ASean@ Longacre, Dr. Sol Lewis and Dr. John Kappas
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS"I acknowledge the support and encouragement
of my wife; Bobbie (Kimball) Durbin, my sons; Timothy Paul and Scott
Kimball, Scott’s wife, Gretchen, their son Brewster Paul and daughter
Amelia Ann, my mother; Annie B. Durbin-Pullig, my step-father; Gordon
Pullig, my sister; Dr. Sybil (Durbin) Waldrop; Dr. Bernel Sanders, Artie
McMurtery, Gordon Boyd, Dr Albert Bottari, Dr. A. M. Krasner, Dr. Anne
Spencer, Dr. Dan Zelling, Robert and Linda Otto, John Lentz; my publisher,
Gil Boyne, Mr Fred Young, Jr. CEO Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital
(PMMH); the administration staff; the medical staff and patients of PMMH;
my clients and the many others who have contributed to my life and works
in so many ways. I thank Judy Hamilton [whose story is found in Chapter
19: Pain Control and Enhancing Healing"] and Bernel Sanders for proof
reading this manuscript.
Hypnotherapy in the Twenty-First Century will develop into a major
player in the health care and counseling fields. Increasing numbers of
hospitals, wellness centers, counseling centers and churches are offering
hypnotherapy as an important counseling tool. In the Twenty-First
Century, it is important to remember that human beings are made up of
body, mind, and spirit. To provide the best possible therapy, the human
trinity must be considered, thus I call my therapy, AHuman Trinity
Hypnotherapy@.
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As much of this book resulted from years of study and note taking, I
do not have information on all sources but have an extensive Bibliography. If
I have included something that you wrote, please consider it a compliment
and either the source is mentioned in the text or your book, audit tape or
video tape is in the bibliography. When case histories are used, the names
have been changed except where clients gave me permission to use their real
name.
The book has six sections: Section One: Human Trinity Hypnotherapy,
Section Two: Pioneers in Psychiatry, Section Three: Hypnotherapy for Health
and Happiness, Section Four: Hypnotherapy For Stress Management, Section
Five: Enhancing Hypnotherapy and Section Six: Avoiding Pitfalls. This book is
written for the general public, the beginning hypnotherapist and seasoned
professional, I hope that this book will motivate those in the health care
professions, counseling professions, and religious professions to further study
and use hypnosis.
CHAPLAIN PAUL G. DURBIN BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
Chaplain Paul G. Durbin is a United Methodist Minister serving as
Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital
in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been on PMMH staff since 1976 and for
many years was Director of Pastoral Care. In 1999, the Department
became Department of Pastoral Care and Clinical Hypnotherapy. On
January 1, 2001, the Department was divided between the two modalities
and Chaplain Durbin was named Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy. He is a
retired Military Chaplain who last served as Army National Guard Special
Assistant to the Chief of Chaplain, Army with rank of Brigadier General. He
was inducted into the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame in 1992.
Chaplain Durbin has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Centenary College
of Louisiana; a Master of Divinity from Emory University, Georgia; Ph.D.
from the American Institute of Hypnotherapy, California; and has
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completed four quarters of Clinical Pastoral Education at Walter Reed Army

Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
He has had over 100 articles published in religious and hypnotherapy
journals and conducted seminars on such subjects as APastoral Care@,
ADeath, Dying and Grief@, AStress Management@, APain Management@,
AFalse Memory Syndrome@, AEthical Considerations in Health Care@,
ASuggestibility@, ASexuality@, AHypnosis@ and AHypnotherapy@.
His books, Human Trinity Hypnotherapy, published in 1993 and
Kissing Frogs: Practical Uses of Hypnotherapy, published in 1996 and
second printing (1998) with an additional chapter are both out of print.
He received awards for both books from the International Medical and
Dental Hypnotherapy Association. In 1999, he received the ABill Curtis
Religion in Hypnosis Award@ from the National Guild of Hypnotist (NGH)
and the AFounder=s Award@ from the IMDHA. In 2000, he received the
"2000 Silver Alumni Award@ IHHF, "2000 Educator of the Year"
International Association of Counselors and Therapist (IACT) and was named
"Diplomat" by IMDHA. In 2002, he received the ALife Time Achievement
Award@ from the American Council of Hypnotists Examiners (ACHE) and
was named President of the Board of Directors of IMDHA in 2002.
FORWARD BY ANNE H. SPENCER-BEACHAM, Ph. D.:
Chaplain Paul G. Durbin=s book stayed with me long after I read it. As
a Hypnotherapist, educator and founder of the International Medical and
Dental Hypnotherapy Association, I found this work to be a Hallmark of
excellence.
In clear, yet absorbing prose he gives the reader important
information to help heal at all levels body, mind, spirit and emotions. Not
only does he use the experts from the past, Durbin now infuses his own
expertise from the present. His experiences are well documented and the
results are true and inspiring.
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Everyone who reads Hypnotherapy for Body, Mind and Spirit will
come away with valuable ideas and techniques that can be implemented
immediately. Because of Chaplain Durbin=s unique position in the hospital
setting he has shown the medical community the supreme benefit of having
a Hypnotherapist on staff. Not only has he helped with specific medical
problems he has added to the therapy team by making it easier for both
patient and doctor to achieve the results desired.
This is a book that will stand the test of time and become one of the
most valuable resources available for anyone interested in the art and science
of Hypnosis. It is for the beginner, the seasoned professional as well as the
inquirer.
May Chaplain Durbin continue to help those who request his hypnotic
support, those who continue to read his reports and articles and those who
are just beginning the adventure called Hypnosis. Anne H.
Spencer-Beacham, PhD (Anne H. Spencer-Beacham, PhD, is the founder
of the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association. Dr.
Spencer is an author and director of Infinity Institute International, Inc a
state licensed hypnosis training school in Royal Oak, MI USA.
www.infinityinst.com)

SECTION ONE: HUMAN TRINITY HYPNOTHERAPY

Chapter 1: Discovering Hypnosis:
I first became interested in hypnosis while participating in the Clinical
Pastors Education (CPE) Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington, D.C. We had an "Introduction to Hypnosis" seminar led by our
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CPE supervisor, Chaplain Carl Ray Stephens. Following that seminar I

bought a book written by Frank Caprio and Joseph Berger titled, Helping
Yourself With Hypnosis. I put that unread book in my bookcase and forgot
about it.
Though I had enjoyed the seminar, I did not follow-up until three
years later. I first used hypnosis (which I called "Suggestion Therapy") in
1975 while a Chaplain at the Burn Center at Brook Army Medical Center
in San Antonio, Texas. The hypnosis was first used with Robert, a sixteen
year old, who had burns over thirty percent of his body. I began by asking
Robert to close his eyes and to become as comfortable as possible. I then
went through a progressive relaxation procedure with him. As he was from
Florida and enjoyed the beach and swimming, I suggested that he imagine
himself on his favorite beach. He could lie down on a warm blanket and feel
the warm blanket under him. He could feel the warm rays of the sun as
they covered his body. He could mentally get up and go into the warm
waters of the ocean. He could feel the warm waters as he went into the
ocean. It was warm and comfortable. (After the first 48 hours, patients
who have been burned often feel cold and the use of the word "warm" can
be very comforting.) He could swim and enjoy the feeling of the warm
water. When he was tired, he could return to the blanket, lie down and go
to sleep. He learned to do this exercise for himself (self hypnosis) whenever
he needed to do so. These metal exercises helped him to reduce pain and go
through some normally very painful experiences with little or no discomfort.
I learned a very important lesson from that first experience with
hypnosis. Because of this patient's use of self-hypnosis, I realized that people
can use self-hypnosis to reinforce suggestion and be more independent
because they can use self-hypnosis when they desires.
Though I had success with several burn patients, I did not use hypnosis
when I first came to Methodist Hospital in New Orleans. In December of
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1980, I had a day off. As my wife was at work and my sons were at
school, I decided to do some reading. As I looked over the books in my
collection, I came across the Caprio/Berger book on self-hypnosis. I began to
read and became so interested that I finished the book before nightfall. That
book motivated me to begin a serious study of hypnosis. Since that time, I
have used hypnosis to help people as a pastor, counselor, chaplain and
hypnotherapist.
My practice of hypnotherapy is based on what I refer to as “Human
Trinity Hypnotherapy”. Each of us is a trinity within himself or herself for
we are made up of body, mind, and spirit. One of the things that
continually amazes me about the Bible is the fact that though it was written
centuries ago, it is always new. Paul saw the human trinity a long time ago.
His understanding of our human trinity (body, mind, spirit) is demonstrated
in the twelfth chapter of the book of Romans.
Paul writes, "I beseech you therefore brother by the mercy of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service and be not confined to this world: but be
you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12: 1-2) It
seems that in God's sight the body and the mind as well as our spirit are
important. The body is the temple of God and the place where the spirit of
God dwells for Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within you."
Paul seems to be saying, "Take your body, your mind, and your spirit,
take all your life and offer all that you are as an act of worship." True
worship is the offering of one's life and all that one does every day to God.
Real worship is more than the offerings of great prayers to God. It is more
than ritual however magnificent. Real worship is the offering to everyday
life to God.
Paul said, "Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind." The
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renewing of one’s mind calls for a change of attitude. It calls for one to let
go of any negative thoughts that may be dominating his thinking. Those
negative thoughts can be harmful for a person because they are blocks to
living life in its fullness.
James Stewart tells about a painting depicting Faust gambling with
the devil for his soul. The painting shows a game of Chess with Faust at one
side of the Chess board and Satan on the other. The game is almost over
and Faust has only a few pieces left. It looks as if Faust is sure to be
defeated. On his face there is the look of despise. While at the other side of
the board, Satan leers in anticipation of the coming triumph.
Many Chess players have looked at the painting and agreed that the
position of Faust was hopeless. One day, a master of the game of Chess
stood gazing at the picture. He was fascinated by the despise on the face of
Faust. As he looked at the pieces on the board, he began to visualize moves
that Faust could make to turn defeat into victory. Other visitors in the
gallery came and went, but the master continued to study the game.
Finally, his visualization paid off and those in the gallery were startled by
the ringing shout of the master "It's a lie! The King and the Knight have
another move."
That is the Gospel. This is the good news of faith. Our life can be
transformed by the renewing of our mind. We can then begin a new way of
life using the gifts God has given to us towards life in its fullness. These
verses affirms that each of us is a unique child of God for no one else touches
life where you can. No one else can experience life as you experience it.
No matter that you may not be wealthy. No matter that you may
not be beautiful. No matter that you may not be well known in the world.
No matter that you may have a very ordinary job. No matter who you are,
you are the only you in the world. You are called upon to use your gifts,
where you are and faced with the life that you have. If you can catch a
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glimpse of your importance, you will begin to live that transformed life
today.
God wants us to realize our talents, our abilities, our potential, and
with Devine guidance to use them for our own good and for the good of
others. He leads us to look into our hearts (subconscious) and minds
(conscious) to see our potential and our possibilities rather than our failures
and limitations.
To accept the idea of body, mind, and spirit as a unit, one can no
longer separate life into the sacred and secular. Each person is created in
the image of God and is sacred for his/her body is the temple of God. The
same God who created people designed the universe. Therefore, every tree
and blade of grass, every atom and molecule, every fragment of truth is
sacred.
God's command to Moses at Mt. Horeb, "Put off your shoes from your
feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) did not
mean that only that particular peace of ground was holy. God was saying
that wherever Moses, or you, or I may be is a holy place.
We are body, mind and spirt. When one is functioning in all these
levels, life is more joyful, more productive and more healthy. Accepting this
position, one can see the important place hypnosis can have for us,
physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Each person reading this has his/her our own history; personally and
professionally. I came to you as a Christian Minister who looks upon
hypnosis as a valuable tool of counseling. Coming from a religious profession
and working in a church-related hospital, I am often asked, "Why does one
of religious faith need hypnosis?" or "How can you use hypnosis? Isn't there
a conflict between religious faith and hypnosis?" I believe that these
questions can be responded to by referring to a statement of Jesus in John
10:20, "I am come that they may have life and that they might have it
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more abundantly." I believe that hypnosis helps people experience a more

abundant life."
Jesus also said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." (St. Luke 4:18)
Following that guidance and by properly using hypnosis, we can help heal
the broken hearted, bring deliverance to those in captivity to pain, fear and
phobias, give sight to the emotionally and spiritually blind and set at liberty
those who are bound by unwanted habits.
To the hypnotherapist I say, “Whether you are religious or not, many
of your clients come to you as religious people. Therefore, you can better
relate to them and their history by understanding their religious faith.”
Respect each person’s religious faith or lack of faith and when appropriate
use what you know about the person’s faith to help that client reach his goal.
Hypnosis is one of the tools that can be used to enhance healing and
for living a more abundant life. Though hypnosis may not be a panacea, it is
an excellent method of reaching the subconscious and using the power that
God created within us. Hypnosis will not help you do something that you
cannot do, but it does allow you to go beyond what you have previously
thought you could do. It will help you to reach your potential.
St. Paul writes in Philippine 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things." When we think on these things and use hypnosis to allow
them to sink into our subconscious, we begin to live these thoughts in our
life.
We should allow positive thoughts of health, love, trust, and confidence
to be our first thoughts in the morning and our last thoughts before going to
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sleep at night. Using self-hypnosis, we can give even greater power to our
thoughts and their effect upon our life.
The hypnotist can use hypnosis and teach self-hypnosis to:
1. Rid individuals of undesirable habits,
2. Control weight,
3. Improve memory, concentration and study habits,
4. Improve self-confidence,
5. Improve athletic ability,
6. Improve communication between the conscious and subconscious.
7. Improve relaxation and reduce the harmful effects of stress.
8. Reduce to eliminate pain with proper medical attention
9. Enhance healing
10. Improve one's self in any areas of life.
Chapter 2: History of Hypnosis:
As we begin our study of hypnosis, let us examine its history. The
first recorded use of hypnosis is found in the book of Genesis 2:21-22, "So
the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon man and while he slept took one of
his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which God took from
the man He made into woman and brought her to the man." In this
incident God used hypnosis as an anesthesia so that Adam felt no pain
during the removal of his rib. Since that time, hypnosis has been used in
almost every age and culture under a variety of names.
The Egyptian "Sleep Temples," are described in the Ebers Papyrus
which are over three thousand years old. In the Sleep Temples, the priests
used a hypnotic-like procedure to improve health. While the subjects were
in the hypnotic state, suggestions for healing, health and well-being were
given by the priest. The temples became so popular and successful that they
spread to Greece and throughout Asia Minor. [Richard Morton, Hypnosis and
Pastoral Counseling, p11]
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Chaplain W. Leo Peacock gives a number of New Testament

illustrations of hypnosis in his paper "Religious Hypnosis and Personal
Control." Chaplain Peacock makes a point with his interpretation of
Matthew's account of Joseph's dream concerning taking Mary as his wife
(Matthew 1:20-25).
When Joseph discovered that Mary was expecting a child, he decided
to break his engagement for he knew that the child was not his. The story
told of an “angel” or “messenger” coming to Joseph in a dream. In this
dream, the angel told Joseph to marry Mary. Upon wakening, Joseph did
as the angel suggested.
Peacock writes that this is a clear description of an individual being
hypnotized and while under hypnosis being given a post-hypnotic suggestion,
which he immediately acts upon following the trance. (W. Leo Peacok,
“Religious Hypnosis and Personal Control”, Dwight David Eisenhower Army
Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Ga., p2)
Though there are no direct references to Jesus using hypnosis, he did
use the power of suggestion in many of his healings. Jesus often used healing
touch and suggestions for healing. The leper was healed by Jesus's touch and
words. Jesus put forth his hand and touching him said, "be thou clean and
immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matthew 8:1-3). Many other
examples could be reported but I leave to you the choice to read the Bible
and discover other illustrations.
Peter speaks of being in a trance while he was praying in the temple
(Acts 22:17). Peter "fell into a trance" and from that experience came to
see that God loves all people and accepts all people who come to him. A
Centurion (Roman soldier) invited Peter to his home to teach him and his
family about Christ. The Centurion was devout in his faith, but he was not
Jewish. At that time, it was religiously unlawful for Peter to visit the
Centurion's house. After the dream, Peter went to visit the Centurion (Acts
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10:1-48).
Throughout the Book of Acts, there are a number of references to the
apostles looking into the eyes or gazing into the eyes of a person which
resulted in the person being healed. A man was listening to Paul speak.
When Paul fixed his gaze upon the man, and saw that he had faith to be
made well, Paul said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet", and
the man leaped up and began to walk (Acts 14:9-10).
The practice of "Laying on of Hands" mentioned in the Bible, uses
some of the techniques of hypnosis. In the Book of Acts we read, "And it
came about that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with
recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he
prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him." (Acts 28:8).
In the Eighteenth Century, two Roman Catholic priests used hypnotic
procedures and gained a reputation as healers. Due to their influence on Dr.
Franz Anton Mesmer, they played a significant role in the history of
hypnosis.
Father Gassner would have those desiring to be healed brought into a
room where they were told to wait. As their expectation mounted, Father
Gassner would wait and then majestically enter the room, lower his cross on
the head of a person to be healed and command “be healed.” The person
would collapse and upon command would rise praising God for healing.
[Morton, p15]
Father Hell used hypnotic techniques and metal plates. He believed
that illness occurred when the magnetism of the body was out of
polarization. He would have his patients lie down and pass metal plates over
them. His suggestions and the passes of the metal plates seemed to cure
those who came to him for healing.
The modern history of hypnosis is considered to begin with Dr. Franz
Anton Mesmer (1735-1815) who was greatly influenced by Father Gassner
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and Father Hell. Mesmer came to the conclusion that it was the metal in
Father Gassner's cross that caused the cures as well as the religious
significance of the cross. If the metal in the cross could bring cures, perhaps
any metal could be used for healing. With this information and experiments
conducted by Father Hell in mind, Mesmer began to develop his theory of
"animal magnetism".
In his medical practice, Mesmer used many hypnotic techniques to help
his patients. Mesmer, who practiced in Venice and later in Paris, developed
a theory that the body had a magnetic force. When this force field was out
of focus, sickness resulted. Healing came by making passes over the body
and correcting the force field.
The term "mesmerized", which is a synonym for "hypnotized" came
from the work of Mesmer. Mesmer was successful in helping large numbers
of people, but he had a lot of opposition from the medical profession. He
was criticized for the dramatic way he had people sit by tubs filled with
water and metal fillings holding a rod that went into the tub. They would
hold metal rods which were supposed to magnetically influence their bodies.
Mesmer would appear in an elegant robe and assist in the transfer to
the patient of the powerful animal magnetism which came from him. After
the patient went into convulsions, he would be removed to the recovery
room to become normal and hopefully rid of his disease. A committee of
learned men, including Benjamin Franklin, was appointed by the King of
France to investigate Mesmer and his methods. The committee discredited
Mesmer by ruling that his successes were due to the patient's expectation
and imagination rather than from his magnetic passes. [William S. Krager,
Clinical and Experimental-Hypnosis, p2]
It is interesting to note that though the committee recognized the
importance of the expectation and the imagination of the patient, none of
them followed up with studies on value of expectation and imagination.
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Charles d'Eslen, a pupil of Mesmer, remarked concerning the committee's

findings, "If the medicine of imagination is best, why should we not practice
the medicine of imagination." [Ernest & Josephine Hilgard, Hypnosis in the
Relief of Pain, p2-3]
The Marquis de Pusegur (1751-1825) disliked the violent crisis of the
mesmeric trance state. He preferred to keep the client in a calm and relaxed
state. Some of his clients went into a very deep state of hypnosis which he
called “somnambulism” and to this day that term is used in reference to the
deepest states of hypnosis. He discovered that a person could talk in the
trance state even though he appeared to be asleep.
A Portuguese Priest, Abbe’ Faria (1755-1819) was the first
practitioner of mesmerism to understand that somnambulism was a
characteristic of the subject rather than the power of the mesmerist. He
pointed out that mesmerism was not due to animal magnetism, but to
suggestion. Faria changed the terminology of mesmerism. The focus was on
the “concentration” of the subject. The operator became “the concentrator”
and somnambulism was “lucid sleep.” [Frank Pattie (Ed: Jesse Gorden)
Handbook of Clinical Experimental-Hypnosis, p24-25]
In the middle of the 1800's, three doctors, Elliotson, Esdaile and
Braid used hypnosis in their medical practice. Both Elliotson and Esdaile
performed many surgeries with only hypnosis anesthesia.
John Elliotson (1791-1868) invented the stethoscope and developed
methods of examining the heart and lungs that are still in use today. He
developed the first journal of hypnotism in 1846. As a results of using
hypnosis and writing about it in the “Harveian Oration” of 1846, Elliotson
was discharged from the University College Hospital. Over the years, he
wrote of his success using hypnosis with such problems as insanity, epilepsy,
stammering, asthma, headaches, rheumatism, tics, lumbago, palsy,
inflammations of the eyes and testicles, painless operations and other human
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problems. [William J. Bryan, Jr, A History of Hypnosis, from the internet]

Dr. James Esdaile (1808-1859) probably performed more surgical
operations under hypnoanesthesia than any physician even to this day.
Esdaile performed many surgeries in India using mesmeric passes. Upon his
return to Scotland, he wrote his most famous work, Mesmerism in India.
Those who opposed him said that those who had operations were just
pretending not to hurt. He took out grapefruit size tumors, did amputations,
and many other surgically procedures using hypnosis. It has been reported
that in Esdaile’s day, the mortality rate of major surgery was about 50%.
"In cases operated on by Esdaile (using hypnotic techniques), mortality
dropped to 5% and in none of the fatal cases was death an immediate
outcome of surgery." [Pattie p31] They died later as a result of infections.
Esdaile wrote:
1. Hypnosis is a natural God-given method of healing.
2. The power produced by the unconscious mind of one under hypnosis is
similar both in quality, character and degree with the power of the Creator.
3. All men have within them special power given by God - the power of
hypnosis - to direct their movement and provide for themselves. [Morton,
p78]
Both Dr. Elliotson and Dr. Esdaile were condemned by their fellow
doctors for their use of hypnosis. At Dr. Esdaile's trial, a doctor claimed
that Esdaile's use of hypnosis as an anesthesia was sacrilegious because God
meant for people to feel pain. [Leslie LeCron, Complete Guide to Hypnosis,
p13] The God of that doctor is not the God I worship.
A less controversial person, Dr. James Braid decided that the
induction methods of the mesmerist produced hypnosis only because the
subject expected it to happen. Dr. Braid proposed that it was suggestion
which caused the trance and not the manner or the power of the hypnotist.
Braid practiced inductions through verbal suggestions and eye fixation. He
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found this very successful and coined the words "hypnosis" and "hypnotism"
from the Greek word meaning "sleep". When he later discovered that
hypnosis was not sleep, he tried to change the name of the phenomenon to
"monoideism", but that word for the trace state never gain acceptance. He
explained that hypnosis was like sleep but only in appearance. The word
"hypnosis" stuck and is used to this day. James Braid wrote two books on
hypnosis: The Rationale of Nervous Sleep Considered in Relation to Animal
Magnetism, 1843 and The Power of the Mind over Body, 1846.
James Braid pointed out:
1. Hypnosis is a powerful tool.
2. Although hypnotism was capable of curing many diseases for which there
had formally been no remedy, it nevertheless was not a panacea and was
only a medical tool which should be used with other medical information,
drugs, remedies etc. in order to properly treat the patient.
3. In skilled hands there is no danger associated with hypnotic treatment
and neither was there pain or discomfort.
4. A good deal more study and research would be necessary to throughly
understand a number of theoretical concepts regarding hypnosis. [William J.
Bryan, Jr, A History of Hypnosis, from the Internet]
Ambrose Liebeault (1823-1904) began his work with hypnosis in
1848. In 1882, Liebeault worked with a patient who had a stubborn case
of sciatica (lower back pain). The patient had been treated for over six
months by Hippolyte Bernheim without success. Perhaps because he was or
wanted to build a case against Liebeault, Bernheim purchased Liebeault’s
book on hypnosis. He went to visit Liebeault believing that he could prove
Liebeault to be a hoax. Once with Liebeault and observing his work,
Bernheim was convinced that Liebeault was working with an important tool
to help people and became his student, later partner and lifelong friend.
Liebeault used hypnosis in all fields of medicine and is credited with
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increasing the acceptance of the therapeutic uses of hypnosis.

Liebeault was very good at rapid hypnotic inductions. Sometime his
induction consisted of the wave of the hand, a pause, and a phrase such as
“Sleep, my little kitten.” Liebeault assisted by Bernheim established the
“School of Nancy.” [Bryant, History]
In 1886 Hippolyte Bernheim (1840-1919) published Suggestive
Therapeutics which among other things gave an excellent description of
Liebeault’s clinical practice. This book is considered one of the greatest works
ever produced concerning hypnosis. In his book and practice, Bernheim
maintained that hypnosis is a normal state and placed the emphasis on
suggestion. The suggestions accepted by the patient caused hypnosis to
occur. During the hypnotic state, suggestions were given and cures followed.
They also stressed that symptom removal was effective and harmless.
Bernheim would simply ask the patient to look at him, think of nothing but
sleep and tell the patient “Your eyelids begin to feel heavy, your eyes are
tired and they begin to blink, they are getting moist, your eyes cannot see
distinctly, and they are closed.” If the patient did not close their eyes, he
would repeat the procedure until they did. If after several attempts, the
patient did not close their eyes, he would say that sleep was not necessary
and that hypnotic influence could be experienced without eye closure.
[Bryant, History]
Jean Martin Charcot (1835-1895) Charcot believed that hypnosis
was essentially hysterical and that its major manifestations were limited to
those who suffered some abnormality of the nervous system. He was wrong
in this, but because he linked hypnosis with disease, his findings became
accepted to his scientific colleagues. The Nancy School regarded hypnosis as
an entirely normal phenomenon and attributed it to the influence of
suggestion. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) spent some time with Charcot in
1885-1886, studying hypnosis. (For more information on Freud, go to
 18

Chapter 10: Sigmund Feud.)

In 1886, a Belgian psychophysicist, Joseph Delboeuf criticized
Charcot’s work at Salpotriere Hospital. He said that the reason that Charcot
was getting similar responses was because the patients were passing the idea
of how to act to other patients so each acted as expected. (This may be
important to the activity of Recovered Memory Therapist and their clients
which is covered in Chapter 40: False Memories: Truth Or Consequence.)
While the debate between the Nancy School and Salpotriere was going
on about the nature and experience of hypnosis, Pierre Janet (1859-1947)
was gathering information on which he based his dissertation. Janet’s
dissertation brought together clinical information on a variety of abnormal
mental states related to hysteria and psychosis. Janet employed automatic
writing and hypnosis to identify the traumatic origins of problems. He laid
the foundations for his own and Freud’s later therapeutic approaches
through his demonstration of the origins of splitting in psychic traumas in
the patient’s past history. [Bryan Knight A Brief History of Hypnosis. from
the Internet.]
Over a half century ago, Dr. Emil Coue` of France saw the power of
suggestion. He taught people autosuggestion and his favorite phrase was,
"Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better." His methods
were based on two principles:
1. When willpower and imagination come into conflict, the power of
imagination wins out.
2. Imagination can be trained more rapidly than willpower. [Richard
Copeland, How to Hypnotized Yourself and Others, p50] Modern day
advocates of Coue`’s "Positive Thinking" are Norman Vincent Peale and
Robert Schuler.
The positive effects of hypnosis during World Wars I and II in the
treatment of battle fatigue proved very helpful in returning soldiers to
 19

battle. Hypnosis was also used by a number of dentists during the war as an
anesthesia putting hypnosis in a position of respect which it had not had for
years. In 1955, the British Medical Association accepted hypnosis as a
valuable tool in medical treatment and in 1958, the American Medical
Association followed suit. [LeCron, Complete Guide, p15] Though still
misunderstood by many, hypnosis is being used by more and more medical
doctors, dentists, psychologists, chaplains, pastors, social workers, counselors
and others in the helping professions.
Though I have never given a hypnosis stage show and have no
intention of doing so in the future, I must tip my hat to stage hypnotists for
keeping hypnosis alive through many years of little or no other uses of
hypnosis. Dave Elman, (who taught many physicians and dentist how to
successfully use hypnosis), Ormond McGill, Charles Tebbetts and other stage
hypnotists keep hypnosis alive. These men and others later wrote and
taught hypnosis for medical use, overcoming unwanted habits and other uses
for personal improvement.
Milton Erickson (1901-1980) played a great part in the widening
th
acceptance of hypnosis in the second half of 20 century. At the age of 17,
Erickson had polio. Though he was expected to die, he made it through the
crisis stage but was paralyzed. After the threat to his life was past, he
would be tied to a chair with the bottom removed and a pot underneath so
he could urinate and have bowel movements with out messing in his clothes.
One day the family forgot about him and he was by himself for a long
period of time. He looked at the window, wishing that he could see out. As
he stared at the window, the chair began to slowly rock. How could this be?
Could it be that his muscles could move just by wishing? Without realizing
it, Milton had experienced ideomotor response. [Ernest Rossi A New Theory
of Hypnotherapy, from the Internet]
After that he begin to image how his muscles felt like when he moved
 20

his finger, hands, arms, legs and so forth. In time, his muscles began to
work again. Later he became interested in medicine and became a physician
and a psychiatrist. He saw that there were many way to induce the
hypnotic state with both direct and indirect suggestions and a wide variety
of each.
Later in life, Erickson had another bout with polio and was confined to
a wheelchair for the rest of his life. There is a story concerning an
experiment by Erickson which I do not know for sure is true or false; reality
or a myth. Regardless of whether true or not it is a good story.
One day Erickson was exhausted so he told his secretary that as he
was very tired, he would be in his office resting but to tell anyone who called
that he was out. The secretary said, “Ok.” The next day Erickson came
into his secretary’s office, put her into a state of hypnosis and said, “I’m
tired. I am going to my office, but if anyone calls tell them I am not here.”
To which his secretary said, “I’m sorry Dr Erickson, I can not do that.”
“Why” Erickson asked. She replied, “Because it would be a lie.” A request
which she knew was not true could be rationalize and followed in the
conscious state, but not in the subconscious state.
Chapter 3: Misconceptions Concerning Hypnosis:
When you hear the word "hypnosis" what comes to your mind?
Perhaps you think of hypnosis as being magical, mystical, supernatural, or
associated with occult. On the other hand, you may visualize a stage
hypnotist whose goal is to entertain by making individuals act in unusual
and often stupid ways. Others might see hypnosis as a psychological asset to
improve self-esteem, improve abilities, reduce pain, and overcome
undesirable habits. Regardless of the idea that comes to your mind, most
people will admit that they know very little about hypnosis.
Have you ever been hypnotized? Before you say "no", consider that
you have experienced some form of hypnotism many times in your life.
 21

Have you ever been watching TV without realizing what was going on about
you? Someone may be talking with you in a normal conversational tone,
but you are totally unaware of their words. When traveling, have you ever
missed a familiar turn-off because you were thinking of something else?
Have you ever seen an injured child's response to a mother's suggestion that
a kiss will make it feel better? All of these everyday experiences may be
forms of hypnosis. That period just before you go to sleep, when you can
hear what is going on but feel so relaxed, is a natural state of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a normal, natural state in which everyone goes in and out of
many times every day.
Although hypnosis can serve many useful purposes, it is discounted by
many because of misconceptions that they have concerning hypnosis. In
order to properly prepare a person for hypnosis, these misconceptions should
be discussed and any questions should be answered. This is necessary because
I believe there are only three things that can prevent a person from being
hypnotized:
1. lack of intelligence,
2. fear, and
3. resistance.
If a person can think, reason and communicate, that person can be
hypnotized. By discussing the misconception and answering the client's
questions, hopefully any fear or anxiety concerning hypnosis that the person
may have will be eliminated. The only other thing that can prevent a
person from being hypnotized is resistance which only the client can control
but hypnotherapist can influence.
During a stress management class at PMMH, I was preparing the class
for progressive relaxation and hypnosis. One of the nurses said, "Chaplain, I
can't be hypnotized. I tried it a couple of times with different hypnotists
and I just would not go under." I said to her, "You are absolutely right, for
 22

you cannot be hypnotized against your will, but just go along with me and
do what I suggest with the rest of the group." As she had trust and
confidence in me, she followed the suggestions and went deeper into
hypnosis than anyone in the group. Due to her trust in me, I was able to
use her resistance to help in the induction. If I had argued with her that she
could be hypnotized, she would have continued to resist.
If all people with the capability to reason and communicate can be
hypnotized, why do some experts on hypnosis give percentages of people
who cannot be hypnotized? Perhaps the reason for their mistaken
assumption is that they failed to recognize those people as being hypnotized.
Because the individual did not follow certain suggestions, they were
determined by the hypnotist as not being hypnotizable. It could be that the
misconceptions have not been addressed so the person fears being
hypnotized or the hypnotherapist is using the wrong kind of inductions and
suggestions.
Some of the Common Misconceptions Concerning Hypnosis Discussed
With Clients Are:
(1) A hypnotized person is unconscious. False. A hypnotized person
does not pass out or become unconscious. The client will hear everything
that is said and remember most of what is said unless a suggestion is given
not to remember. For overcoming habits and self improvement, I believe the
middle stage produces the best result so do not attempt to go for the
deepest levels of hypnosis for most clients. It is true that in the deepest level
of hypnosis, a person may remember or not remember what happened or
remembers portions of what happened as in attempting to recall a dream.
(2) A hypnotized person is asleep. False. Though the word "hypnosis"
comes from the Greek word meaning "sleep", the person does not go to
sleep. The idea that a person goes to sleep is probably the result of the old
hypnotist who usually said, "You are getting sleepier and sleepier" as part of
 23

their induction and deepening procedure. The hypnotic state has very little
to do with sleep except that the hypnotized person may appear to be asleep.
In his hypnosis class at the University of New Orleans, Mr. Wolfe stated that
there are three important differences between sleep and hypnosis: 1)
Brain-waves in hypnosis are more similar to the waking state than the
sleeping state. In fact, the brain-wares are the same as that time frame just
before a person goes to sleep when he can hear but feels so relaxed and
peaceful. 2) A sleeping person does not respond to suggestions, while a
hypnotized person does. 3) Consciousness is suspended in sleep but present in
hypnosis.
I am not as convinced about the accuracy of the statement that a
sleeping person does not respond to suggestion as I once was. My wife can
sleep through a thunderstorm, but when our sons were at home, if one of
them was out late a night, she would wake up when he shut the front door
upon his return and ask “is that Tim (Scott)? Depending on which was late
coming in. This tells me that the subconscious may well be aware of what is
going on even when we are asleep.
Even though I tell everyone that they will hear and remember much of
what I say, there is always someone who says that they were not hypnotized
because they heard every word I said. A few years ago, I received a
physician consult to work with a woman for pain management. She had
surgery the day before and was wanting her pain pills much sooner that was
prescribed. When I entered the room, she was suffering severe pain. I
explained the process of relaxation, imagery, and hypnosis to the patient
and explained that she would hear and remember much of what I said.
After the hypnosis procedure, she was pain free. The next day I visited her
and she said, "I was not hypnotized yesterday for I heard and remembered
what you said." I responded, "Ok, how did you feel when I came in?” She
replied, "I was in excruciating pain." I asked "How did you feel when I left?"
 24

She said, "I felt very good and went to sleep soon after you left." We talked
for a while and I again used hypnosis for pain reduction. When I counted her
out, I said, "You will not remember a thing I have said for the time you
closed your eyes until I reach the count of three." The next day when I
visited her she said, "I was not hypnotized yesterday, for I went to sleep as
soon as I closed my eyes."
Some people fear that when practicing self-hypnosis, they will become
so out of touch with reality that they will not be able to respond to
situations outside themselves. If the phone rings or something demanded
her attention, she would respond as if she were watching TV and the same
thing occurred.
(3) A person may not come out of hypnotic trance. False. There is
not a case in recorded history in which a person failed to come out of the
hypnotic state. In some cases, a person may become so relaxed that he will
drift into a natural, normal, restful sleep. If so, he will awaken naturally at
a later time. In a stage show that I went to several years ago, the hypnotist
was having trouble getting a person out of the hypnotic state. After making
two or three attempts to count him out of hypnosis without success, he said,
“Your bladder is getting fuller and fuller. With each breath you inhale, your
bladder is getting fuller and fuller.” About that time, the man came out of
hypnosis and asked where the men’s room was located. If I have someone in
my office who is so relaxed and comfortable that they do not want to come
out of hypnosis, I say, “Understand that you can remain relaxed in that
chair as long as you want to, but be aware that for each minute of the
second hour, I charge as much as I do for the first hour.” That has never
failed.
Even if something happened to the hypnotherapist, the person under
hypnosis would come out of hypnosis. I know of a hypnotherapist who had a
heart attack while working with a client. When the hypnotist fell from his
 25

chair, the client came out of the hypnosis and reacted appropriately, even as
he would have done if they had just been talking and the same thing
occurred. By the way, the hypnotherapist recovered from the heart attack
and is still active in hypnotherapy as I write.
(4) Under hypnosis, a person is so completely under the hypnotist's
control that he will obey any suggestion. False. Although this is a favorite
theme of fiction writers, TV and movie plots, it is not true in reality. A
person will respond to the suggestions of the hypnotist only if he wants to
do so. A person will not do anything under hypnosis that is against his
principles or moral standards.
Just to illustrate how much the individual is in control, I would like to
share with you an occurrence that took place in a class which consisted of
medical students and theology students. We were nearing the end of the
seminar and there was a medical student and a theology student who had
not been involved in any of the demonstrations. Not wanting to leave them
out, I said to the theology student, "After you come out of hypnosis, you will
not remember the number three for five minutes only", I said to the medical
student, "For five minutes and five minutes only, you will not remember the
number five."
I brought them out and asked the theology student to count to ten.
He began to count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." I then asked the medical
student to count to ten. "1, 2, 3, 4, er, er, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10". It looked as
though I had failed with the theology student, so I asked him what
happened when I gave him suggestion not to remember the number “three".
He said, "You asked me to forget the number three, but when I thought of
the number three, I thought of the Holy Trinity, and when I thought of the
Holy Trinity, I thought of God and I was not going to give up God even five
minutes." What appeared to be a failure turned out to be a great teaching
point; a person will not follow a suggestion that goes against his personal or
 26

moral beliefs. Hypnosis is not mind control, but it does help you use your
mind to reach a goal, overcome a bad habit, etc.
(5) There are no dangers attached to hypnosis. False. Charles
Tebbetts writes, "There is nothing supernatural or magical about hypnotism,
and there is not one documented case of harm coming to anyone as a result
of its therapeutic use." [Charles Tebbetts, Self Hypnosis, p29] Melvin Powers
states, "Despite the fact that thousands of amateur hypnotists were
practicing hypnosis, little or no harm resulted. I have personally instructed
several thousand medical and non-medical individuals and have yet to hear
of a single case where a crisis was precipitate or anything of a dangerous or
detrimental nature occurred as a result of hypnosis." [Melvin Powers, Guide
to Self Hypnosis, p20]
Though I basically agree with Tebbetts and Powers, I believe that there
are some dangers. While under hypnosis, a needle may be stuck into the arm
without pain, but this may cause an infection if the needle is not sterilized.
As both of these books were written in the early 60's which was before
Recovered Memory Therapy was working its harm, they were unaware of
the destruction false memories can cause to the clients and other. I will
write more on this in a later chapter (Chapter 40: False Memories: Truth Or
Consequence). With good judgment and proper ethical standards, these
dangers can be avoided or overcome.
As a danger, some people point to the possibility of sexual seduction by
the hypnotherapist while the client is in the hypnotic state. Though it is a
concern, I am convinced that any improper conduct is rare. Seduction is no
more prevalent with hypnotherapy than in any other counseling situation.
Shortly after I became Army National Guard, Special Assistant to the Chief
of Chaplains, Army, a fellow Chaplain asked me if hypnosis should be barred
in pastoral counseling because a Chaplain who used hypnosis had an affair
with a client. My response was that there were other chaplains,
 27

psychiatrists, psychologists, and medical doctors in jail for the same crime,
therefore, we should forbid hypnosis only if we barred all other forms of
counseling. I think he got my point.
I have had only one negative response by a person under hypnosis. I
had been consulted by her doctor for pain reduction. After hypnotizing the
woman, I suggested that she would see a bright light which was focusing on
the area of discomfort. It was my intention to have her feel healing
soothing heat from the light on the area and experience the discomfort
being drawn from her body. However, when I mentioned the light, she
became noticeably agitated. Sensing that there was a problem, I told her
that the light was fading out and that she was experiencing a comfortable
change in her feelings. She responded to the suggestion and I brought her
out of hypnosis. Several years before, she had been in a car accident at
night and her visualization brought back that experience. After we talked
about the experience, she responded while under hypnosis to another
visualization to help her reduce her pain.
(6) A post hypnotic suggestion lasts forever. False. A post-hypnotic
suggestion may not be accepted nor followed or may last from a few
minutes to an entire lifetime. As we cannot determine who will follow the
post-hypnotic suggestion for a few minutes or for a lifetime, I teach the
client self-hypnosis. By using self-hypnosis, the client reinforces suggestions
for building self-worth and overcoming bad habits.
(7) Hypnosis is anti-religious. False. Hypnosis is neither anti-religious
nor pro-religious. It can be used for good or bad depending on the
hypnotist and the subject.
Today, most religious groups accept the proper ethical use of hypnosis
for helping people. Exceptions are Christian Science, Seventh-Day
Adventist, and Jehovah Witnesses, some independent churches and some
individuals of various churches. In recent years, the Seventh-Day Adventists
 28

have lessened their resistance by using relaxation therapy and suggestion

therapy. David Smith, a Christian Science Practitioner states, "Christian
Scientist, however, maintain that the human mind cannot cure what it
causes, and that the genuine healing comes only through turning to God in
prayer." Many Christian Science readers use hypnotic techniques whether or
not they realize it. The Jehovah Witnesses do not accept the use of hypnosis,
but I have read articles in their “Watch Tower” and “Awake” magazine
advocating relaxation for stress reduction. As you can see even those who
oppose hypnosis, are using the principles of hypnosis (relaxation,
concentration, suggestion, repetition) in their healing service.
In his book Angels of Light, Herbert E. Freeman includes hypnosis as
one of the practices which are condemned by God. He quotes Deuteronomy
18:9 in which God warns, "Thou shalt not learn to do after the abomination
of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that useth
divination (fortuneteller), or an observer of times (soothsayers), or an
enchanter (magician), or a consorter with familiar spirits (medium,
possessed with a spirit, or spirit guide), or a witch (sorcerer) or a charmer
(hypnotist) or a wizard (clairvoyant or psychic), for all that do these things
are an abomination unto the Lord. [Morton p 20] The words in parenthesis
are Mr. Freeman's inserts.
I feel that Mr. Freeman has misinterpreted much in these verses and
especially the interpretation of "charmer" as a "hypnotist." The Interpreters
Bible states that the word “charmer” refers to those who conjure up magical
spells. [Wright G. Ernest, “Deuteronomy” The Interpreter’s Bible, Nashville,
Abingdon Press, 1953, p448] The Pulpit Commentary reads, "A Charmer
is a dealer in spells, one who by means of spells or charms pretends to
achieve some desired results. [W.L. Alexander, “Deuteronomy” The Pulpit
Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI, 1950, p303]
In their book, The Holy Spirit and You, Dennis and Rita Bennett have
 29

shown a profound dislike and misunderstanding of hypnosis by declaring ,

"Hypnosis is particularly dangerous because it is thought to be a valid form
of therapy in psychology and psychiatry, or as an alternative anesthesia in
medicine and dentistry." The authors add, "The fact is that hypnotism by
placing the soul in a passively receptive state, even when the hypnotist has
no such intention, opens the door to morbid spiritual influences that may
bring oppression that lasts for years. Until the person is delivered by prayer
and exorcism . . . Do not allow yourself to be hypnotized for any reason
whatsoever." [Morton p 3-4] By these statements, the Bennetts show their
prejudice and total misunderstanding of hypnosis. With the exception of the
False Memory Syndrome, there is no case to indicate that a person has been
oppressed for years because of being hypnotized. If their interpretation is
correct, the Bennetts should also be concerned about prayer, meditation and
that time frame just before a person goes to sleep for the individual is in a
similar state to hypnosis in both situations
Jesus indicated by his teachings that we should help people live life to
the fullest and to relieve pain whenever possible. Hypnosis is a means to
help people live a better and more abundant life and is a means of reducing
and eliminating pain. Would the Bennetts suggest that we should not use
chemical anesthesia for surgery because we might open our mind to evil
spirits? Perhaps they agree with the doctor at Dr. Esdaile’s trial, who stated
that the use of hypnosis as an aesthetic was sacrilegious because God meant
for people to feel pain?
Martin and Deidre Babgon show their prejudice when they write,
"Before hypnotism becomes the new panacea from the pulpit, followed by a
plethora of books on the subject; its claims, methods and long-term results
should be considered. Arthur Shapiro has said, 'One man's religion is
another man's superstition, and one man's magic is another man's science.'
Hypnosis has become science and medicine for some Christians with little
 30

proof of its validity, longevity of its results, or understanding of its nature.

Because there are so many unanswered questions about its usefulness and so
many potential dangers about its usage, Christians would be wise to shun
hypnosis." [Martin and Deidre Babgon, Hypnosis and Christianity, p54]
The Babgon should be reminded that people have been harmed by the
misuse of the Christian religions as well as all other religions. Should one not
go to a Christian healer because some Christian healers have misused the
concept for their own gain. The Babgons apparently have not studied
hypnosis with an open mind, or they would not be afraid of its use. In fact
they might even come to appreciate its value. Many of God's gifts have been
used incorrectly, but that should not distract from the gift when used for
the benefit of mankind and to the glory of God. God blesses all our activities
that are beneficial to people.
Hypnosis should not be condemned as anti-religious just because some
people misuse it. Some oppose hypnosis because it is used by the occult, but
do we condemn prayer because prayer is used for occultic purposes?
Hypnosis can be a very helpful tool in counseling. Without apology and when
appropriate, hypnosis can be used for the growth, health and the benefit of
people.
In an address to the National Association of Clergy Hypnotherapists,
Reverend Fred R. Krauss, PhD reported that religion has traditionally used
hypnotic techniques in a variety of ways. The atmosphere of the religious
service is geared to the induction of the trance state. The architecture,
decor and religious symbols have a profound spiritual effect on believers. The
altar cross and flickering candles provide a fixation point for concentration
and meditation. In prayer, most Christians bow their heads and close their
eyes which can be a very similar experience to hypnosis.
Reverend Krauss continues by stating that it has been said that prayer
and meditation were the nicest hypnotic inductions of all. Everything is
 31

there that should be, including a harmony of body, mind and spirit that
enhances our communication with God. By assuming the appropriate
posture, closing eyes, bowing the heads, listening and responding with
"Amen", praying in silence centers our attention from the outer to the inner
world of reality. In the sermon, the pastor uses voice inflections and
modulations and uses repetitive ideas with anecdotes, Bible stories,
illustrations and parable-like stories.
Prayer and meditation are traditional Christian disciplines that
parallel what we call auto suggestion. Of course, the autosuggestions are not
the only aspects of prayer for through prayer, we are able to open our
minds to God. When we are open and responsive, prayer is basically
communication with God. If I understand Reverend Krauss, he is pointing
out that the use of hypnotic procedures in worship and Christian experience
is blessed by God.
Coming from a Methodist background, it was interesting to learn that
the use of eye closure in prayer probably began in the revivals of John
Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Because Wesley, an Anglican Clergyman,
was not allowed to preach in the pulpit of most of the established churches,
he began to preach outside. Deprived of the usual eye fixation points
provided by the religious symbols (candles, crosses, altars, etc.) and bothered
by the discomforts and distractions of the open-air gatherings, the preacher
had to rely on enthusiasm and other means to hold the audience's attention.
"Bow your heads and close your eyes" became a regular part of the service.
The practice became standardized and is now used throughout most of the
Christian Churches. [R.N. Shrout, Self Hypnosis, p110-111]
(9) A person has to be in deep trance for hypnosis to be helpful.
False. People respond most favorably to self-improvement and overcoming
bad habits suggestions in the light or middle state of hypnosis. This is
significant because in self-hypnosis one probably goes only into the light and
 32

medium state of hypnosis.

(10) If you get rid of one symptom by hypnosis another symptom
will take its place. False. Though there may be a few illustrations of
symptom replacement, most experts agree that this not normally true. In a
conversation with Erickson, a physician ask that if you get rid of a symptom
with hypnosis, is not it true that another one would appear. Dr. Erickson
answered something like this, “If a person has surgery and takes a drug to
stop the pain, is that pain replaced by another symptom? Does the pain
move from the place of the surgery to the big toe of the right foot or is it
the little finger of the left hand.” Of course the answer was “No” and so it
is with the replacement of symptoms when using hypnosis. In my 20 plus
years of clinical practice, I have never had a person to come back for
therapy because he/she replaced one symptom with another. Some smokers
are overly concerned with gaining weight when they stop smoking. I have
worked with thousands of people for stop smoking and have had only 8
return with weight gain. Those eight were focused and worried about
gaining weight and the subconscious interpreted that as a wish and made it
happen. Remember, the subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between
a wish and a fear as it attempts to meet our deepest wishes and desires.
(11) Only psychiatrists, psychologists, and medical doctors with
doctorate degrees should be allowed to practice hypnotherapy. False. There
are many good hypnotherapist who do not fit into the above mentioned
categorizes who are helping people in many ways. If a hypnotherapist has a
client with a condition or problem which the hypnotherapist is
uncomfortable working with or feels he/she is unqualified to work with, the
therapist should refer the client to another hypnotherapist, psychiatrist,
psychologist, medical doctor, clergy, or other qualified therapist.
I share with you the following from Clinical hypnotherapy: [p 62]
David Cheek, M.D. and Leslie M. LeCron. Our symposium instructors have
 33

taught thousands of patients and hundreds of professional men and women

how to hypnotize themselves. We know of no one who has ever had a bad
result or found any danger in self-hypnosis. Freedom from any possible
danger should be emphasized to the patient who is learning it, because some
psychiatrists have claimed that self-hypnosis is always dangerous (H. Rosen).
We emphatically do not agree with this dictum.
Harold Rosen, a psychiatrist, has exaggerated the idea of hypnosis
being dangerous. He has lectured throughout the country speaking to
medical, dental and lay groups, warning that hypnosis should be used only
by those who have had extensive training in psychiatry. If this were true, all
physicians should also have such training before practicing medicine for
much medical practice is concerned with psychosomatic, emotional illnesses.
Fortunately psychiatrists with long experience using hypnosis disagree
completely. Erickson, undoubtedly the greatest authority on this subject, has
said that hypnosis itself is not dangerous in any way, although it can be
misused. He feels that hypnotherapists can learn much psychiatry from their
patients as long as they respect the needs of these patients and refrain from
coercing them in hypnosis.
The best indication that dangers are minimal is the fact that
thousands of lay hypnotists and many stage hypnotists who know little
about hypnosis other than how to induce it use it indiscriminately, yet bad
results are rarely reported. [p 63]
Psychoanalysts state that a patient undergoing hypnotherapy becomes
extremely dependent on the therapist, with a greater transference
developing. It is true that there may be a great dependence initially, but
this is of advantage to both the patient and the therapist. As progress is
made and the illness or condition responds to treatment, dependence
dwindles away. A large part of hypnotherapy is the building of ego strength
in the patient. Hypnosis facilitates this and then dependency needs are
 34

ended or modified. It could be pointed out that anyone continuing in

analysis for three or four years with little progress certainly is displaying
great dependence on the analyst. [p 69]
Dr Bryan M. Knight writes in his book Health and Happiness with
Hypnosis: The spreading of fear of hypnosis by some medical people is a
gross disservice to the public. How many thousands of persons have
consequently steered away from the opportunity to harness this natural tool
for relaxation, self-control problem-solving, better health, and creative
development! How much has such ignorance unnecessarily added to the
nation's medical bills!
The restrictors claim that hypnosis can be dangerous - but not if it's
in their hands. This is an absurd notion. Hypnosis is not dangerous.
Unethical, ignorant, greedy or emotionally unbalanced people are
dangerous. And that can describe a doctor or a psychologist just as well as it
might describe a 'lay" hypnotist. Good character or high morals have to do
with the kind of person you are, not with the degrees you've accumulated.
Apart from character defects, therapists' errors in the use of hypnosis arise
from inadequate training about hypnosis; obviously such deficiencies could
apply to anyone. [P 23]
In working with someone with a medical problem, “hypnotists should
require clients to have a thorough medical checkup. This protects both (p
23) client and hypnotist. If, for example, your doctor tells you that your
headaches are caused by a tumor, the responsibility for choice of treatment
hypnosis and/or surgery -- rests where it should: on you as an informed
client. A doctor's checkup keeps the medical onus where it should be and
frees the hypnotist to do the work for which he or she is qualified.” [p 24]
Dr William Kroger, author of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis,
made an unexpected visit and presentation at the American Association of
Ethical Hypnosis (AAEH) Conference of 1996. In his talk, Dr. Kroger
 35

likened hypnosis to faith, and pointed out that just as no one has a
monopoly on faith, so does no one have a monopoly on hypnosis.
"Hypnosis has no boundaries," said Dr. Kroger. He pointed out that
hypnosis, the essence of which is suggestion, pervades every phase of life, and
includes advertising and selling. The "soft sell" especially, he said, is a form of
indirect hypnosis. His description of hypnosis, which is really a form of
communication, concluded with the statement, "No one knows where
suggestion ends and hypnosis begins."
Dr. Kroger expressed concern with the attempts of some psychiatrists,
psychologists, and medical doctors who feel "omnipotent" to exclude people
in other fields who may logically and ethically use hypnosis. He also felt irked
with those who practice hypnotherapy in areas in which they were not
qualified to practice. He felt that "knowing our place" in the field is
important. In this regard he expressed succinctly the basic principle of the
Association to Advance Ethical Hypnosis. (From 1966 “Hypnosis” the
Journal of AAEH)
Chapter 4: Definitions and Suggestibility
You may ask, "What is hypnosis?" If you want an exact definition of
hypnosis, I cannot provide one. There are many definitions, but there seems
to be some common threads running through these definitions which states
that hypnosis is:
1. An altered state of awareness with
2. Focused concentration
3. Bypassing the critical factor of the conscious mind
4. Conscious and unconscious communication
5. Higher susceptibility to suggestion
The basic principles for successful hypnosis are:
1. Relaxation
2. Concentration
 36

3. Suggestion
4. Repetition
Many people expect the hypnotic experience to be strange and bizarre,
but it is a very pleasant experience as the person feels progressively more
relaxed. The person becomes absorbed in the process in a similar way to
being absorbed in reading a good book or watching an interesting television
program. Perhaps the best illustration of what hypnosis feels like it to
compare it with that time-frame just before you go to sleep. You are aware
of what is going on around you, but you feel so relaxed and peaceful. Each
person will feel his own way and there are no set standards.
The three basic ingredients for successful hypnosis are:
1. Belief
2. Expectation
3. Visualization/Imagination.
Believe it will happen, expect it to happen, and visualize or imagine it
happening.
The qualities of a good hypnotic subject are:
1. The person is capable of communication and concentration
2. Has a desire to be hypnotized
3. Is motivated to be hypnotized
4. Believes in possibilities of hypnosis
5. Is willing to cooperate
6. Has confidence in hypnotism
Though some experts list several trance levels, I tend to break it down
to three basic levels which can be described as light, medium, and deep; with
a pre and post hypnotic experience. In the pre-hypnotic state, one feels
progressively relaxed and there may be a fluttering of the eyelids and
sensations of warmth.
In the light trance there is relaxation with slower and deeper
 37

breathing. Self-improvement and overcoming habits suggestions can be

effective in this stage and especially in the medium stage. In the medium
trance, there can be partial-to-complete body catalepsy, levitation of
fingers, hands, or other limb of the body, analgesia for any part of the body,
control of some organic function such as raising and lowering of blood
pressure. In deep hypnosis, amnesia of what is said may occur. In this
stage, all of the illustrations found in the middle stage can be experienced
and increased. Analgesia can be increased to anesthesia to allow surgery to
be performed without the patients experiencing pain.
Throughout all levels of trance and with increase degrees of intensity,
time can be distorted and illusions of touch, taste, smell and sight are
possible with positive hallucinations and negative hallucinations. Upon
suggestion, one can open his eyes and remain in trance. Age regression can
be experienced in the middle and deep states. With termination comes a
post-hypnotic experience which is usually a feeling of relaxation and
comfort.
Dave Elman gives five signs that indicate a person is experiencing the
hypnotic trance.
1. Body warmth
2. Fluttering of the eyelids
3. Increased secretion of tears
4. The whites of the eyes get red and pinkish
5. The eyeballs go into the head [Dave Elman, Hypnotherapy, p22] People
experience the hypnotic state without all these signs being present.
Some of the Terms Used in Hypnosis Are:
1. Analgesia - an absence of pain, but an awareness of touch and pressure.
2. Anesthesia - total absence of feeling touch, pressure or pain.
3. Catalepsy - a condition of inability to move muscles on suggestion.
4. Levitation - fingers , hands, arms, legs floating upward upon a
 38

suggestion.
5. Negative Hallucinations - a lack of awareness of objects or persons
actually, physically present. On suggestion the subject will not see, hear,
smell, taste or feel genuine stimulus.
6. Positive Hallucinations - a state in which the subject believes that he sees,
smells, tastes, hears or feels suggested stimuli that is not in reality present.
7. Post-Hypnotic Suggestion - A suggestion given in the hypnotic state that
will be executed in the waking state.
8. Self-hypnosis - A self-directed state of hypnosis which is also called,
"autohypnosis."
9. Somnambulism - A deep state of hypnosis
10. Waking Hypnosis - Production of the hypnotic phenomena in the
waking state were the “critical factor” of the conscious is bypassed without
going through the normal induction procedure.
11. Waking Suggestion - Those suggestions given in the normal state of
consciousness which do not precipitate a waking state of hypnosis.
12. Automatic Writing - The client is given pen and paper for writing.
Suggestions are made for the subconscious mind to take control of the hand
and let the hand write as it will. The words will probably not be separated
and movement may be jerky. The writing may be hard to read but
important messages from the subconscious may come forth.
13. Critical faculty - That part of the conscious mind which analyzes
incoming data. It is that part of the conscious mind that says something can
or not happen. In hypnosis the critical faculty is bypassed so that the
subconscious tends to follow the suggestion. In a taped seminar, Dave Elman
states, "Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the
human mind is bypassed and selective thinking is established."
14. Time distortion - One can not distort time, but one's perception of
time can be distorted. It is possible to experience an event that took hours
 39

in just a few minutes under hypnosis or a few minutes seem like hours.
15. Abreaction: An action whereby emotionally charged feeling are released
from the mind through reliving the incident.
16. Ideomotor Response: Involuntary movement of the body by the
subconscious like a finger rising in response to a question.
17. Age Regression: Going back to an earlier age and experiencing the
event either as a spectator or as if it were happening again,
18. The Law of Concentrated Attention: This law states that whenever
attention becomes concentrated on a particular idea and dwells on that
idea, that idea tends to be realized.
19. The Law of Reversed Effect: This means that the harder you try to do
something, the less chance you have of doing it. In a battle between the
imagination and will power, it is the imagination that invariably wins.
20. Law of Dominant Effect: This means that a suggestion is more effective
when it is experienced simultaneously with a strong emotion. An
emotionally charged suggestion is more likely to be followed than one
without the emotional content. When willpower and imagination come
into conflict, the power of imagination wins out. Imagination can be trained
more rapidly than willpower.
Perhaps the most useful aspect of hypnosis is that it can serve as a
bridge between the conscious and subconscious mind. The conscious and
subconscious are one mind, but two different parts of that one mind. The
conscious and subconscious parts of the mind could be compared to an
iceberg. The portion of the iceberg above the surface of the water is the
conscious portion and the ice beneath the water is the subconscious portion.
The conscious portion consists of about 10% of our thinking ability and the
subconscious consists of about 90%.
Our conscious mind consists of what is available to our conscious
thinking process. It is the analytical, rational, logical, two plus two is four
 40

mind. Temporary memory and will power resides in the conscious mind. It
is that part of the mind that says, "I should stop smoking." "I should lose
weight." "I should not be afraid of elevators."
The subconscious mind is not logical and it contains our memory,
emotions, habits, automatic responses, feelings, instincts and impressions.
The subconscious part of the mind controls breathing, heart rate, blood
pressure, temperature, and other natural functions of our body. It never
closes, never dozes, keeps us going. The subconscious mind is concerned with
bringing about our deepest wishes, expectations and desires but does not
always do it the way we want. When I was in the first or second grade I
was going to have test on Friday morning. It was Thursday night and time
for me to go to bed. I knew that I was not prepared for that test. I
earnestly prayed that I would not have to take the test. Well, the next
morning I woke up the sickest I had ever been in my life. I got what I
wanted for I did not have to take the test. Warning: the subconscious mind
can not tell the difference between a fear or worry and a desire. When the
fear or worry becomes dominate, the subconscious interprets the fear or
worry as a desire and attempts to make it happen.
In addition to our memories, habits, and impulses, the subconscious
also contains that which we have inherited from our ancestors. We inherit
through the subconscious our natural knowledge, instincts, and impulses. On
top of that, we record all the results of our own thinking, education, and
contacts.
Once the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it begins to make the idea
a reality. It works the same for good or bad ideas. When applied in a
negative way, the subconscious contributes to our failure, frustration,
unhappiness and even illness. Joseph Murphy wrote, “Your subconscious
mind is like the soil which accepts any kind of seeds - good or bad. It is the
seat of your emotions and the storehouse of your memory.” [Murphy, p31-
 41

33]
The subconscious mind does not care if the body hurts, but rather that
the deepest needs are met. If our greatest need is for affection and the only
time we experience affection is when we are sick, we may get sick in order
to receive the affection that we need. This occurs even though we don't like
being sick and the reason is unknown.
A woman was in the hospital because she had lost the use of her right
arm. She had been through many tests but none of them showed any
reason for her problem. Through counseling, it was discovered that she had
been physically abused as a child. As a young child, as a teenager, as a
young wife and mother, she vowed that she would never hit a child of hers
in anger. A few days before coming to the hospital, her little five year old
son had been especially aggravating. He did one more thing and in anger,
she hit him. As this was such a shock to her, her subconscious mind
protected her against hitting him any more by making her right arm
useless.
As I felt she needed to experience forgiveness, I used the following
imagery. I suggested that she visualize herself walking down a country road.
On your back is a heavy backpack, but there is nothing in the backpack of
any use to you. In fact, the heavy backpack contains the guilt you have been
holding on to. God has forgiven you. He is telling you that you can now
forgive yourself. You can be free of the heavy backpack. It is a decision for
you to make.
If you want to be free of that heavy load of guilt, one of your fingers
will feel very light, so light that it will float. By letting your finger float up,
you are symbolically letting go of that backpack. This is good. Your finger is
floating up. As the finger floats up, the backpack falls off your back and
you feel a great relief. As the finger floats up, you feel free and comfortable.
You feel relief as the heavy weight of your guilt has fallen from your back.
 42

God has forgiven you and you have forgiven yourself. You are forgiven. As
your finger floats back down, you feel a sense of deep joy and peace within. I
added the following post-hypnotic suggestions: As you had never ever hit
your child in anger before and you shall never ever hit your child in anger
again, you have no need to be paralyzed. She left the hospital two days
later completely cured.
If as a child, one knocks over a glass of milk and is called "stupid" by
one or both parents, the subconscious mind may accept that as true whether
it is or not. The child may not translate that statement into "you are
clumsy" or "you are not paying attention" but will just reject it or accept it
as true. If accepted, the person will continue to do "stupid" things even
though he may have a high IQ. As he starts to school, he may be in the top
10% in IQ levels, but is making C's, D's, F's because a "stupid" person cannot
make good grades.
This principle is at work for many people who are overweight. As a
child, most of us were rewarded for being good with food. If you were good
at the dentist's office or the doctor's office, you got a sucker or a bar of
candy as you left. Perhaps your mother said, "You have been good today,
you can have an extra dessert." "Eat all of the food on your plate", "If you
are good, you can have some candy," and so the emphasis on eating
continued. As an adult, our subconscious mind feels rewarded by our over
eating. Food comes to mean much more than nourishment. It means being
loved, cared for, accepted, pampered, rewarded.
We consciously know that the beliefs which were valid for us as a child
are not necessarily valid for us as an adult. This common sense evaluation
does not occur at the subconscious level. What was true for the subconscious
as a five year old, a ten year old, and a fifteen year old is true today and
will be true in the future, unless we intervene to change such subconsciously
held ideas. Using hypnosis as a budge between the conscious and
 43

subconscious mind, we communicate with the subconscious in order to

change those subconsciously held ideas.
Joseph Murphy points out that the power of the subconscious is great.
It inspires, it guides, and it reveals to you names, facts, and senses from the
storehouse of your memory. Your subconscious controls your heartbeat,
controls the circulation of your blood, regulates your digestion, assimilation
and elimination. Your subconscious mind is the source of your ideas,
aspiration and altruistic urges. [Murphy p47]
Another aspect of the subconscious is that which is expected, good or
bad, tends to be realized. Job, the suffering person of Old Testament
history stated, "For the thing that I fear comes upon me. I am not at ease,
nor am I guilty. I have no rest, but troubles come." (Job 3: 25-26) For
instance, if you expect to toss and turn tonight instead of going to sleep at
bed time, you will probably have a difficult time getting to sleep. Every
time you say, "I have trouble getting to sleep at night" you reinforce an
already fixed idea in your subconscious mind.
A person who says, "I have an inferiority complex", "I can't stop
smoking", "I can't lost weight", "I can't concentrate", "I can't be forgiven",
usually lives out those expectations. As that kind of thinking can do us
harm, positive images can help, Emerson said, "Man is what he thinks all
day long." [Murphy p47] The writer of Proverbs 23:7 said that as a
person thinketh in his heart so is he. The most effective imaging is that
which communicates with the subconscious, "in the heart". The mental
picture you hold of yourself is what directs and controls you. You can use
your imagination to improve yourself or destroy yourself. Fear (negative
expectation) is our greatest enemy. Faith (positive expectation) is our
greatest alley.
Suggestibility: The mind, conscious and subconscious, is greatly
influenced not only by imagination but also by suggestion. Suggestibility is a
 44

natural characteristic of our humanity. It is the foundation of learning and

change in our life. It is used in worship, politics, advertisement, and human
relations.
Did you ever stop to consider the power of words which is one method
of conveying suggestions. By words, a salesman sell his goods or services. By
words, wisdom is imparted from one person to another, or from one
generation to another. There are words that make us laugh and words that
make us cry, words that bless and words that condemn, words that wound
and words that heal.
Telling someone to think of eating a lemon may cause that person's
mouth to water. If at breakfast, one says that her good tasting eggs taste
rotten, it is most probable that others at the breakfast table will experience
their eggs as distasteful.
There are suggestions that tend to do us harm and affect our bodies
and mind. "I'll be damned" may lead to constipation or our mind creates a
dam which interferes with our thinking process. "I can't stand him" may
lead to weak legs or a break in relationships. "He gets on my nerves" may
lead to a nervous breakdown, a skin rash, or an ulcer. "I can't stomach
that" may lead to indigestion or upset stomach. "That kills me" may lead to
illness or the end of a creative thought. "You make me sick" can cause one
to get sick. "You are a pain in the neck" may lead to a neck problem. "That
burns me up" may lead to an ulcer. "I don't want to hear that" may lead to
reduced hearing. "He is a pain in the ass." may lead to the use of
Preparation H.
Other statements that tend to affect us in body, mind, and spirit are:
"You are driving me crazy." "He'll be the death of me." "This is getting the
best of me." "That just makes me sick." "I am at the end of my rope." "He
drives me nuts."
As negative suggestions can do us harm, positive suggestions can bring
 45

healing and worthwhile change in our life. Emile Coue's statement, "Day by
day in every way, I am getting better and better," has been used by many
to bring about positive results in their life. As hypnotists, we can greatly
influence people for the good with positive suggestions.
Some people respond best to direct suggestion, while others respond
best to indirect suggestion. Most of us can respond to both direct and
indirect suggestions but generally have a preference for one or the other.
Our suggestibility usually comes from our primary care giver (usually our
mother). If the child experiences his mother as saying what she means and
meaning what she says, he will usually be more responsive to direct
suggestions. If the verbal and non-verbal part of her communication does
not express the same thing, the child begins to search for the real meaning.
The individual begins to look for the implied meaning, rather than what is
actually said. This person usually responds best to indirect or implied
suggestions. Balanced suggestibility comes when in certain areas the mother
is consistent in what she says while in other areas, she gives conflicting
messages. [John G. Kappas, Professional Hypnotism Manuel]
My dominate response is direct, but I tend to be close to the middle,
for when my Mother told me not to do something, I knew she meant it. If
she told me to do something, then I should do it. There was a cause and
effect. Mother laid down the law and I followed it or I reaped the
consequences. On the other hand, Mother could be indirect in her request.
She might say to me, "Paul, don't you think you should go see Mrs. Smith.
She is sick and she gave you a gift for Christmas last year." Now that
sounds like I have a choice, but I did not. She meant for me to go see Mrs.
Smith and, if my answer to her was "no," she would let me know in no
uncertain terms that I was to go. She was not asking a question when said
“Paul, are you going to wear that shirt with those pants?” She meant for
me to change shirts or pants because she did not think they matched.
 46

To illustrate how two different people respond to the same suggestion:

In the early days of our hospital’s “no smoking” policy there was a sign at
the entrance of the hospital which read, "Thank you for not smoking." The
person who responds to direct suggestions will read the sign and may say,
"Oh, I can smoke here, but they will not thank me." The indirect suggestion
person reads the sign and says, "I am not suppose to smoke here." The sign
now reads, "No smoking."
You can be of greater help to the individual if you are aware of the
person's suggestibility. If there is a doubt, be heavy on the side of indirect
suggestions because the direct suggestion person will be more resistive to
indirect suggestions than the indirect suggestible person will be to direct
suggestion.
Another important thing to keep in mind is how we word our
suggestions. All people can imagine, but not all people can visualize. One
way to test this is to ask the client if they can close their eyes and see a
mental picture. You may say, "Close your eyes and think of a lemon. You
can imagine a lemon, can't you? Can you also see a lemon or picture a
lemon in your mind?" If they can see a lemon, they are visual people and
you can say words like, "See yourself walking down a road, picture the
beautiful flowers along the side of the road." If the person has no mental
picture of the lemon, you can say, “If you were in the fruit section of a
grocery store, you would not have to ask the clerk, to point out the lemons
to you, for you imagine a lemon.” For the person who cannot visualize, it is
best to say, "Pretend that you are walking down a beautiful country road,
imagine the flowers beside the road."
By understanding the suggestibility of the client, you help establish
rapport which is very important. Rapport is also improved by
understanding the thought pattern of the client. NLP practitioners tell us
that one of the most effective techniques for creating rapport is by pacing or
 47

matching and mirroring the other person's body posture, gestures, speech
patterns and phrases. This does not mean that we act exactly like the other
person, but similar.
We can tell a lot about the person by the words they use. A visual
person will say such things as, "I see what you mean." "That looks good to
me." "I went blank." "I can visualize it." "Let me get a picture of it in my
mind."
The auditory person will say, "I hear what you are saying." "Your
ideas sound good to me." "Oh, that rings a bell."
The kinesthetic person is more concerned with feelings than either
sight or sound. They may say, "I feel I have made the right decision." "Let
me get a handle on what you're saying." "Please tackle this work as soon as
possible." (Lane Charlton, “Dynamics of Communication for Hypnotherapy”
presented at the 1989 International Hypnotherapy Conference)
Chapter 5: Inductions:
St. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind." (Romans 12:3) By the use of hypnosis to reprogram our
subconscious, we can renew our mind and live a more abundant life. As I
have read numerous books on hypnosis and have attended hundreds of
seminars and classes on hypnosis, I have learned from others. Many of the
techniques which I use were learned from others and adapted to my
personality.
When I begin a suggestibility exercise, I tell the client, “Let happen
what happens and if nothing happens, that means I need to go in a
different direction because everyone is different. It is my job to get into
your frame reference instead of attempting to get you into my frame of
reference.” If the client does not respond to an induction, he does not feel
like a failure or that he cannot be hypnotized so you go on to another
induction with success.
 48

(1) Hand Rising, Hand Falling Exercise: The first suggestibility

exercise which I normally use is the hand rising, hand falling exercise. Put
your arms straight out in front of you. Close your eyes. (You may notice
that one hand is lower than the other. Take that hand and put it palm up.
For this example, it is the right hand.) Imagine that I am placing a heavy
book, say a large dictionary weighting 9 or 10 lbs in your right hand.
(Lightly touch the palm of that hand.)
On the left wrist I am tying a string attached to a helium-filled
balloon which is lighter than air. (Lightly touch the arm under the wrist of
that hand.) The balloon is large but it can be any color you want it to be,
just imagine it in your mind's eye. Your left hand is so light that it just
wants to float upward with the balloon. It feels light, light as a feather as it
floats upward. The heavy book in your right hand is getting heavier and
heavier. The book is becoming heavier and heavier. It is getting harder and
harder for you to hold up that heavy book. The balloon is so light that your
left hand is floating upward. The right hand is getting heaver and heaver
and is going down, down, down.
To convert the hand rising, hand falling suggestibility exercise into an
induction, I say, "As your right hand gets heavier and heavier, your left
hand is so light that you just let it float up even higher. As the right hand
goes down, you go deeper and deeper. Your right hand gets heavier and
heavier and when your hand touches my hand, you go into a very peaceful
comfortable state of hypnosis."
I continue this pattern until the hand touches my hand. When the
hand touches my hand, I say, "Now go even deeper (I lightly tap the
forehead and say) deeper and even deeper... Now I am removing the book
from your left hand so just let that hand fall into your lap and I am
removing the balloon from your right hand so just let it drop into your lap
as you go deeper and deeper. In a moment I am going to ask you to open
 49

your eyes but you remain in hypnosis. I am going to ask you to move over
to the recliner. When you are comfortable in the recliner, I am going to ask
you to close your eyes. When you close your eyes in recliner, you go twice as
deep as you are now. (NOTE: Ever since a client came out of hypnosis
asking why his left hand was so heavy and his right hand so light, I always
remove the book from the one hand and the ribbon to the balloon from the
other.)
(2) The Sway Exercise: (I have used this as a demonstration for a class
on hypnosis, but I have never used it in a private counseling session, not do I
intend to do so.) For the sway exercise, I have the client stand in front of
me with balls and heels of both feet touching. I place my right foot about
12 to 14 inches behind my left foot so that I can stop the client's fall with
little or no difficulty.
Standing in front of the client, I say, "I want you to look up toward
the ceiling. In a moment you will begin to sway backwards and forwards.
As you can see, I am standing in front of you so that I can catch you. As
you sway, you can trust me to stop your fall."
I place my hand about 6 inches above the head of the client and
continue. "Look up at the ring on my finger. Now close your eyes as you
keep your head in its present position. Imagine yourself swaying backwards
and forwards as you keep your body fairly rigid. As you imagine yourself
swaying backwards and forwards. In a moment, I am going to touch the
back of your shoulder and when I do, just allow yourself to fall. I will stop
your fall so just let yourself sway backwards and forwards."
On a forward movement, I touch the back of the client's shoulder.
Normally, he will fall forward with legs stiff which tells me that he is
following suggestions and he trusts me to stop his fall. If the client braces
himself from falling, it usually means that there is a failure on the part of
the client to trust. If such is the case, one should seek to develop more trust
 50

from the client.

If the person did brace himself, I say, "You did well at following my
suggestions, now just let yourself trust me to stop your fall. You know that I
am standing in front of you and can catch your fall with ease." I then go
over the procedure as I did the first time.
(3) Fingers Spreading Exercise and Hand to Face: Having the client
sit in a chair with feet flat on the floor, I ask him to place his dominate
hand about 6 inches in front of and above his nose. Hold your hand and
finger tightly together and look at your middle finger. As you do, your
fingers are beginning to jerk, spread, separate, pull apart. Your fingers are
jerking, spreading, separating, pulling apart. Repeating these words, I
watch for finger movement. If there is finger movement, I consider that the
client responds to direct suggestion.
If here is no movement, I give an indirect suggestion such as “Are your
fingers beginning o jerk, separate, pull apart because you subconscious mind
wants them to separate or because you are responding to the suggestion.
That’s right just imagine the fingers jerking, separating, spreading, pulling
apart and let it happen.
Whether or not the fingers spread, I continue to convert the exercise
into an induction. I say, as you continue to look at the middle finger of your
left hand, you become conscious of your own breathing. When you become
aware of your own breathing, nod your head “yes.”
Now as you continue to stare at the middle finger of your left/right
hand, you feel your eye lids getting heavier and heavier. You may want to
close your eyes now or later. That's right, just let the eyelids close and let
them remain closed. With your eyelids closed, imagine that your face is like
a magnet and that your hand is like a piece of metal. Now you know that
metal is attracted to a magnet. Just pretend that with each breath you
take the magnet gets stronger and stronger.
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You may begin to feel your hand moving in toward your face. As the
magnet becomes stronger, the hand is pulled closer and closer to your face.
(For the client with a dominate indirect response to suggestibility I continue):
Now is the hand moving in because I suggest it or because you are going
deeper and deeper into hypnosis. Is the hand moving in because you
imagine it or because of the hand's attraction to your face. As the hand
comes closer and closer to your face you go deeper and deeper. The hand is
coming closer and closer and when skin touches skin you will go deeper.
When the hand touches the face, I touch the forehead of the client and
say "Now go deeper and deeper." In a latter chapter, I will use this as a
releasing technique during the therapy. I use to use this as an induction
often, but now reserve it for the releasing technique “Hand to Face for
Therapy” which is covered in Chapter 9 under “Therapeutic Tools”,
(4) Handclasp Exercise: I say, Stretch both arms out in front of you
and clasp your hands together, with the fingers intertwined. Now, make
your arms stiff and rigid, rigid and stiff. Now squeeze your hands tightly
together. Imagine that your two hands are in the grip of a carpenter's vice.
Imagine that I am turning the handles of the vise (I place a hand on either
side of the client's hand and begin to rotate my hands as if turning the
handles of a vise.) The jaws of the vise are tightening against your hand, the
vise is being tightened. Fingers are getting tighter and tighter. Now you
feel the tension in your hands, you can feel the fingers getting tighter and
tighter around the backs of your hand. Now, they are so tight, the vise has
them so tight together that you cannot open them. You can try, but the
harder you try, the tighter they stick. Now, quit trying and just let your
hands relax. As they relax, you can open and separate your hands.
The subject who can not open his hand until told to do so can be
evaluated as being highly suggestible. If the client opens his hands, just say,
"See I told you that you would not follow any suggestions which you felt
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inappropriate, but you will follow my suggestion about being a non-smoker,

won't you." You can use this statement for any exercise which is not
followed and for any therapy you are working on.
(5) The Eye Closure Exercise: The eye closure method begins with the
head facing forward. Lift your eyes to a spot on the ceiling or above your
head; do not move your head, only your eyes. As I count from 1 to 10,
your eyelids become very tired, watery, and heavy. By the time I count
to10 you may want to close your eyes. If at anytime during the counting
you want to close you eyes that is perfectly OK. In fact, even as they begin
to blink and become heavy, you might want to just let them close and relax.
One - your eyes are becoming heavier, droopier, drowsier.... two -
your eyes are beginning to water and it is becoming more and more difficult
for you to keep your eyes open... three - The eyelids are heavy and your
eyes are watery... Four - Your eyelids are very heavy, you can hardly keep
your eyes open... Five - You are beginning to close your eyes and the lids
get heavier and heavier and your eyes begin to water more and more... Six
- Heavy, droopy, drowsy. Your eyelids are closing and it is becoming more
and more difficult to keep your eyes open... Seven - It is becoming more
and more difficult to keep your eyes open. In fact you can just close your
eyes and relax... Eight - Just let your eyes close and be at peace. Nine -
your eyes are closed and you are even more comfortable and relaxed... Ten
- that is good. Just let your eyelids relax even more. If the eyes lids do no
close, I simply ask the client to close theirs eyes and go even deeper.
Now that you are comfortable and at ease, you begin to drift into
deeper relaxation. Go as deep as you need to go for the success of this
session. Go deeper and deeper, deeper 9, deeper 8, deeper 7, deeper and
deeper you go, deeper 6, deeper 5, deeper 4, down, down, down you go,
deeper 3, deeper 2, deeper 1, deeper and deeper still. I now begin the
hypnotherapy with the patient.
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(6) The Thumb Induction: This is an exercise where you don't need to
do anything except to look at the thumb of your right hand. Just extend
your right arm straight in front of you and then raise it about one foot
above your eye level. Extend your thumb up. Except for your thumb, you
can either close your hand or leave your hand open. That doesn't make
any difference so long as your thumb is extended and you can see it easily.
Now just look at your thumb and focus your attention there without letting
your gaze wander off to objects in the background. Just look at your
thumb. You just watch it, without trying to change anything. You don't try
to add or to subtract anything. You just watch it. So just watch your
thumb without trying to change anything and don't try to change what you
are thinking either. Just watch you thumb and continue to think whatever
you are thinking. I am not talking to your conscious rational mind anyway.
So let your conscious rational mind think whatever it likes. Just keep
watching your thumb. You may begin to notice, however, several interesting
things. One is that your arm begins to feel heavy, very heavy. Just notice
that. You may also notice certain changes in the way that things look.
They take on a different appearance. You don't have to make this happen.
It just happens. You may also be surprised to notice that without making it
do so, your thumb slowly begin to move down very slowly, just like the sun
in the sky. As you continue to notice how your arm is getting heavier and
heavier it begins to move down, all by itself, toward your leg or your lap
and as it does, you feel more and more relaxed.
You may also notice that the sounds that you hear, like the sounds of
my voice and the sound of the music and other sounds that many come into
the room is helping you to relax more and more. As your relax more and
more your thumb continues to move down you feel more and more relaxed
moving deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation.
As this happens, you also notice that your eyelids feel heavier and
 54

heavier and that they want to close all by themselves. You do not have to
make them do that just let it happen. So as your hand gets closer and closer
to your leg or your lap and you go down deeper and deeper and deeper into
the state of relaxation, it is very easy for your eyes to close completely.
When your arm comes to rest on you leg or lap, whenever it comes to rest,
you notice that you feel very, very relaxed. You never know just how long
that takes but when it does, you notice that you feel very, very relaxed.
Your breathing becomes slower and easier as you continue to move deeper
and deeper as far as you need to go for the present very, very relaxed. Now
just let the hand and finger relax even more and move to a comfortable
position for you as you go deeper and deeper.
(7) Counting Your Breath Induction: [Adapted from Joseph Barber,
Hypnosis and Suggestion In The Treatment Of Pain] If you like, you may
close your eyes now for most people find it easier to do this exercise with
their eyes closed. So just let you eyes close. It is very important that you pay
as much attention as you possible can to the experience of your breathing. I
want you to pay close attention right now to your breathing. Really notice
what it feels like, each time you breathe in, each time your breathe out.
Notice the rising and falling of your chest, notice the change in tensions of
the material of your shirt as your chest fills with air each inhalation, notice
that the air is cooler as it enters your nose, and warmer as it leaves for it
has been warmed by your own body.
In a moment, I want you to begin counting your breaths... each one...
either as you inhale or exhale... it doesn't matter... I'm going to keep talking
to you for a while, but I want you to pay direct and complete attention to
counting your breaths.
Begin now. Count each breath. If you become distracted and forget,
that's all right...just bring your attention back, and resume counting. If you
don't remember at which number you forgot... that's ok... just start over
 55

again at the beginning. Just keep counting... don't pay attention to me, just
keep counting. As you count, there may come a time when you become so
relaxed that you just forget to count anymore and that is OK. As I count
backwards from 9 to 1, you go deeper and deeper as deep as you need to
go for the success of this session.
Deeper and deeper 9, deeper 8, deeper 7, deeper and deeper you go.
Deeper 6, deeper 5 deeper 4, going down deeper and deeper. Deeper 3
deeper 2, deeper 1. Deeper and deeper. Now, I'm going to talk to you
about some experiences you might have and you can respond fully or
partially. You might respond quickly, or with some delay. You might respond
predictably, or you might surprise yourself. I don't know how you'll respond,
but I hope you'll allow yourself the opportunity of responding in ways that
are beneficial for you. You know how to explain a lot of things. And some
things you don't know how to explain, but you can enjoy them just the
same. For instance, you don't need to understand how a TV works in order
to enjoy a TV. You don't have to know anything at all about the principles
of how a TV works, just know that it does. You don’t have to know how
hypnosis works to benefit from hypnosis so just allow yourself to go deeper
and deeper into this pleasant state of hypnosis.
(8) A Dave Elman's Induction and Deepening Exercise: Now take a
long deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. As you exhale the breath,
allow your eyes to close and begin to let go of the tension in your body. Just
let your body relax as much as possible now. Now place your awareness on
your eye muscles and relax the muscles around your eyes to the point they
just won't work. When you are sure they are relaxed and are aware that as
long as you hold on to this relaxation they won't work, then test them to
make sure they won't.
If they open when the person tests them, say, "No, you're making sure
they will work." Relax them to the point they will not work. It's so simple,
 56

so easy, anyone can do it. When you're sure they won't work, test them to
make sure they won't work. Now, this relaxation you have in your eyes is
the same quality of relaxation that you want throughout your whole body,
so just let this quality of relaxation flow through your whole body from the
top of your head, right down to the tips of your toes.
Now, you can deepen this relaxation even more. In a moment I'll ask
you to open and close your eyes. When you close your eyes, that's your
signal to let this feeling of relaxation become 10 times deeper. All you have
to do is to want it to happen and you can make it happen. Ok, now open
your eyes and close them again and you go ten times deeper. Let every
muscle in your body relax. Now let the muscles around your eyes relax so
much that they just won't work, test them again to make sure they won't
work.
In a moment, I'm going to lift your hand by the wrist and drop it.
Just let your hand and arm be as loose as a wet dishrag. Let me do all the
lifting so that when I drop it, it just falls into your lap or the arm of the
chair and you go twice as deep.
(If the client helps to lift the hand say) No, no, let me do all the
lifting, don't help me. Let it be heavy. Just let it be limp (drop it and say):
Now that we have physical relaxation, we want mental relaxation.
In a moment, I'll ask you to begin slowly counting backwards out loud
from 100 and with each descending number you will go twice as deep.
With each number you will go twice as deep. With each number you will
double your mental relaxation. By the time you reach 96, the next number
just won't be important enough to verbalize. Now, begin to count
backwards out loud, very slowly, and with each number just relax twice as
much.
Now say the first number, 100 and double your mental relaxation.
Client: 100, hypnotherapist: Now double your mental relaxation, let those
 57

numbers begin to fade. Client: 99, Hypnotherapist: Double your mental

relaxation, start to make those numbers leave. Client 98, Hypnotherapist:
deeper and deeper you go. Client: 97, twice as deep. Client: 96:
Hypnotherapist: snap fingers and says, "The numbers are gone. Vanish
them, let it happen, you did it. The numbers are gone." [Elman, p26-28]
(9) Variation of Dr. Flower's Method: Now, in a moment, I am going
to count to 20 and I am going to ask you to close your eyes on even counts
and open them on the odd counts, like this ..." (At this point, I move in
front of him and illustrate by counting "One", and open my eyes. Then
count, "Two" and I close my eyes and then “Three” and open my eyes. I
continue to count the number “five” following the guidelines, but each time
I open my eyes, I stimulate increased difficulty in doing so. I make it look to
the client as though it becomes progressively more difficult to open my eyes,
each time. I am now using non-verbal suggestion. I am saying, in effect, "It
will become more and more difficult for you to open your eyes between each
count." When I finally verbalize this suggestion later in the induction, my
verbalization merely acts as a reinforcement or repetition or a compounding
of the earlier suggestion. I resume my original position and continue.
As I count, you continue to close your eyes on the even count and open
them on the odd counts. I began to count and when I notice that the client
is having difficult in opening her eyes, I continue: You find that your lids
become progressively heavier... it becomes more and more difficult to open
the eyes again after you have closed them....and the more you try to open
them, the heavier the lids become, and your entire body seems to be
relaxing more and more. You feel so limp and relaxed, so comfortable with
your eyes closed, that opening them would be an intrusion of your
relaxation, keep them closed, and let go. You do just that. You simply no
longer wish to open your eyes on the odd counts and you keep them closed.
Your lids become so heavy that they simply remain closed....and at that
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point, you go deep into hypnosis, easily and effortlessly. (Note the
permissive drift into relaxation of the technique. The client is given the
option of when she enters the hypnotic state. It's left up to her. Whenever
she's ready, she goes into hypnosis. The pressure is relieved. If you have done
your preliminary work thoroughly she feels no fear and enters the hypnotic
state -- in her own time.)
As soon as I feel I have prepared the subject adequately for what is
about to happen, I may proceed with the counting. Simply count, slowly
and evenly, from one to twenty, leaving a second or two between counts.
As I progress, I may imperceptibly speed up the counting. This gives the
subject less and less time to open his eyes and may lead to closure more
rapidly. Note, as I count that a certain degree of disorientation may be
occurring...the client may be opening his eyes on the even count, and closing
them on the odd counts as she has more and more difficulty opening her
eyes. Observe the degree of difficulty in re-opening. At some point, the
client's eyes close and that is when hypnosis begins, but I continue the count
until I reach 20. If the subject's eyes have not closed, by the count of 20, I
simply repeat the count from one, without pausing or indicating to the
subject that this is not the way I usually perform this method. If by the
second series, the subject shows no signs of either closing his eyes or of any
disorientation, I ask the client to close his eyes and then proceed with a
progressive relaxation method. The client will never realize that this is not
the way I always proceed. [Beryl Siberman, Professional Hypnosis Training,
Volume One,, p33-34]
(10) The Hand Levitation: (I only use this with a high direct (60 or
above) suggestible client. With this exercise the client sits in a chair by the
side of my desk and I say, place your right arm and hand on top of my desk
and the left hand on your lap. Just sit back in your chair with both feet flat
on the floor.
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Stare at your right wrist and begin to imagine that your hand is
getting lighter and lighter, as light as a feather. Now close your eyes and
imagine or pretend that I am tying a ribbon to your right wrist and I am
putting the ribbon over your shoulder and behind your neck. I am beginning
to pull on the ribbon and you begin to feel your wrist rising.
You may feel a jerking in the muscles of your hands and arms. It
seems as if the ribbon is pulling your hand upward toward your face. As
you concentrate on your right hand, it becomes lighter and lighter. As the
right hand becomes lighter, you may feel your left hand getting heavier and
heavier as it pushes down on your leg.
As your right hand and arm begins to lift, the hand and arm gets
lighter and lighter. You feel it going up, up, up, as I pull on the ribbon, the
hand lifts higher and higher and the wrist begins to turn inward toward
your face. When your hand reaches your face and when skin touches skin,
you go even deeper.
When the hand touches the face, I touch the forehead of the client and
say "Relax deeply...go twice as deep." Now your hand is sticking tightly to
your face. Sticking tighter, as if it was stuck with super glue. Stuck so tight
that you can't pull your hand away from your face even if you tried. You
can try, but the harder you try the tighter it sticks. (when client tries, I
continue) When I touch your hand just let it relax and fall into your lap and
go twice as deep. (touch hand)
(11) Gordon Boyd Indirect Induction With My Adaptation: (This
induction is very effective for the analytical client.) As you relax more and
more just listen to my voice and let yourself go into trance when you want
to. When you came into my office, you walked over to the chair of your
choice and sat down. After we talked today, you went over to the recliner
at my invitation, you sat down and now if you would like, you may close
your eyes and when you desire you may go into trance. Have you ever
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wondered where it is to be in trance? Are you in that chair or are you in a

trance. Sometimes you came into a room in one state of mind and changed
your state of mind while your were in that room so that when you went out
of that room, you went out in a different state of mind. Now all this is very
interesting, is it not? What state of mind are you in now? What state of
mind will you be in one minute? And now are you in my office? Or are
you far away in your mind?
And we know that you are in your mind and not out of your mind,
do we not? And if you are in my office and in that chair one moment and
if the earth is rotating on its axis, are you in the same place you were a
moment ago? You are still in that seat, are you not? And yet you have
traveled haven't you? And as you travel are you in Louisiana? Are you in
the United States? Are you in the Milky Way? And scientist tells us that
our galaxy is moving through space at a great rate of speed.
It is interesting how one can be in one place and another place and
then in a different place but still in the same place only a moment later.
One can only wonder about that. Now ______, you seem to be in a pleasant
state of relaxation right now, so just keep enjoying being there...or anywhere
you might want to be as I talk to you. [The basis for this induction was
presented by Rev. Gordon Boyd at the 1992 Convention of the National
Association of Clergy Hypnotherapist]
(13) 20 Down To 1 - Indirect Induction: (Very good induction for a
high indirect suggestible, but works with direct suggestibles also.) I would like
for you to just close your eyes and take three deep breaths and silently
count from one to five and say "deeper and deeper". The best way to begin
feeling more comfortable is just to begin by getting as comfortable as you
can right now. Go ahead and adjust yourself to the most comfortable
position you like.
That's fine, now I'd like you to notice how much more comfortable you
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can feel by just taking another very big, deep, satisfying breath. Go ahead,
a big, deep, satisfying breath; that's good. You may already notice how
good that feels. Realizing that you are already feeling more relaxed than
when you came into this room.
Now, as you continue breathing calmly, smoothly, deeply and
rhythmically and comfortably, I would like for you to imagine or pretend
that you are relaxing more and more with each descending number as I
count backwards from 20 down to 1. In a moment, but not yet, I am
going to begin to count out loud from 20 down to 1. As I count each
number, I'd like for you to just notice how much more comfortable and
relaxed you feel with each descending number. As I count from 20 down to
1, the further down I count, the more comfortable and relaxed you can
allow yourself to feel.
Alright, you get ready
- 20 - Now just let your body begin to relax
- 19 - Relaxing body and mind.
- 18 - Relaxing body, mind and spirit
- 17 - And maybe you are already noticing how much more relaxed you
can feel. I wonder if there are places in your body that feel more relaxed
than others. Perhaps your shoulders feel more relaxed than your neck.
Perhaps your chest feels more relaxed than your arms. I don't know and it
really doesn't matter. All that matters, is that you feel comfortable and
relaxed, that's all.
- 16 - Perhaps feeling already places in your body relaxing more and more.
Just allow your scalp muscles to relax, and as you do so, are you
experiencing a slight tingling sensation throughout the scalp? Some people
do, others do not, either is normal. I wonder whether the relaxing of your
scalp muscles are already beginning to spread and flow. Flowing down
across your eyes, down across your face. Allowing your cheek and jaw
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muscles to relax.
- 15 - A quarter of the way down and already feeling your neck and
shoulder muscles relaxing more and more. Beginning to really, really enjoy
your relaxation and comfort.
- 14 - Now relaxing the chest, stomach and thighs, just letting go and
feeling peaceful and comfortable
- 13 - Relaxing and perhaps noticing the sounds around you. Relaxing
more and more with each sound of my voice, with each note of the music,
and even allowing any distracting sounds such as the phone ringing or noise
for another office to become a part of your experience of comfort and
relaxation.
- 12 - As you allow the relaxation to spread, notice the peaceful, restful
and comfortable relaxation spreading down into your shoulders, into your
arms. I wonder whether you notice one arm feeling heavier than the other.
Perhaps your arms feel pleasantly light or comfortably heavy. I don't know,
perhaps both feel equally comfortable.
- 11 - Just letting yourself become more and more aware of the
comfortable relaxation. Breathing comfortably, slowly and deeply. Noticing
that relaxation really beginning to sink in as you continue to experience the
pleasant, restful, comfortable relaxation spreading through your body, down
through your legs and out the soles of your feet.
- 10 - Halfway to the bottom, wondering perhaps what might be
happening, or wondering if anything at all is happening. Yet, knowing that
it really doesn't matter, feeling so pleasantly restful, just continuing to
notice the growing, spreading, comfortable relaxation.
- 9 - More and more comfortable as you become deeper and deeper
relaxed.
- 8 - I wonder if at times you hear my voice loud and clear and at other
times does it seem to be a long distance away.
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- 7 - Maybe your mind is wandering from time to time and from place to
place on other things as you relax more and more,
- 6 - Really enjoying this relaxation and comfort as you go deeper and
deeper.
- 5 - Three quarters of the way down, deeper and deeper relaxed as your
body seems to just sink down deeper and deeper into the chair, with
nothing to bother, nothing to disturb.
- 4 - Wondering perhaps what to expect at the count of one, but realizing
it will be a pleasant experience.
- 3 - Already becoming more and more relaxed. Really beginning to really
enjoy your experience of comfortable relaxation with nothing to bother,
nothing to disturb.
- 2 - Almost to the bottom as you continue to go deeper and deeper as you
breathe, slowly, comfortably and restfully.
- 1 - Nothing to disturb you, feeling more and more comfortable, deeply,
deeply relaxed. Deeper with each breath that you take, with each breath
that you inhale, each sound that you hear.. Deeply, deeply relaxed.
(Therapy and suggestion.)
(14) 1 Up To 20; Coming out of Hypnosis: (After therapy and
suggestions, continue): Now, as you continue to enjoy your comfortable
relaxation, I'd like for you to notice how very nice it feels to be this way...To
really enjoy your experience, to really enjoy being relaxed. (pause)
Feel yourself slowly and comfortably becoming more alert as I count
from 1 up to 20. More alert as I count, when I reach 20, you are alert and
awake, refreshed; perhaps as though you have had a nice nap. Alert,
refreshed, comfortable. No hurry, but begin to become more alert as I
count.
- 1 -, - 2 -, - 3 - That's right, feel yourself becoming more alert. -
4 - - 5 - A quarter of the way back up, more and more alert. - 6 - No
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rush, plenty of time, feel yourself become more and more alert. - 7 -, - 8
-, - 9 -, - 10 - Halfway back up. - 11 - More and more alert. - 12 -
Comfortable but more and more alert. - 13 - More and more alert. - 14
-, - 15 -, - 16 -, - 17 -, - 18 - That's right, more and more alert. -
19 - Feeling the eyes begin to open as you become more and more alert. -
20 - That's right, wide awake, alert, relaxed, refreshed, comfortable, ready
for the activities of the day.
(15) Favorite Place Relaxation and Inductions: (I generally use this
progressive relaxation exercise during the initial session and teach it to client
for self-hypnosis.)
Information for client when teaching this method for relaxation and
self-hypnosis.
1. Select a place where you can be reasonable sure that you will not be
disturbed by unnecessary noises or interruptions. Dark or subdued light and
soft instrumental music may be helpful.
2. Lie down on a bed or sit in a chair. Allow your arms to lie beside you or
on the arms of the chair or upon your thighs. Keep arms and legs
uncrossed.
3. Remove hard contact lens.
4. Make a tight fist, then let your fist relax slowly. Let your mind register
changes from tension to relaxation and let your conscious and subconscious
mind record how it feels to relax. This gives your whole body a model to
work with.
5. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths as you think "breathe in
relaxation, exhale tension."
6. Following the three breaths, count to yourself from 1 to 5 and say,
“deeper and deeper”.
As you are relaxed you can say to yourself, "I am now in a state of self-
hypnosis, but I want to go even deeper so that my suggestion and
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visualizations are even more meaningful to me."

7. Make your suggestions. Suggestions should be positive statements instead
of negative statements. Positive statements are more effective, so if you can
word your suggestion in positive terms, they have a greater effect. When I
drive a long distance, I sometimes get sleepy. I use self-hypnosis before
traveling to avoid getting sleepy. Instead of saying, "I will not get sleepy"
(The subconscious mind may not hear the “not”) I say, "I will remain awake
and alert." I repeat that several times and then add a post hypnotic
suggestion, "If I should get sleepy, I say 'Awake! Awake!' and immediately, I
am awake and alert as if I washed my face with a wet bath cloth."
8. Do not use the word "try" as that implies doubt and failure. You are not
to try, you are to accomplish the suggestion.
9. One of the most important rules involved in making suggestion effective
is the repetition. Repeat the suggestion, repeat the suggestion, repeat the
suggestion.
10. Do not give yourself too many suggestions on different subjects at one
time for this tends to defuse the effect. You should repeat suggestions to a
subject and you can rephrase the suggestions in many ways.
11. Visual imagery will improve the success of the suggestion tremendously.
See what you want to happen as if it has already happened and you give
your subconscious a model to work for. The Bible tends to support this
theory because in Mark 11:24 RSV we read, "Therefore, I tell you, whatever
you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." The
way to pray that way is by imaging what you want to happen as if it has
already happened. Imagine or visualize what you want, what you desire,
what you pray for and you will tend to experience its reality. Joseph
Murphy states that faith is a way of thinking, "an inner attitude, knowing
what the idea you fully accept in your conscious mind will be embodied in
your subconscious mind and made manifest." (Joseph Murphy, The Power of
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Your Subconscious Mind). Some people are visual and some are not but all
thinking people can imagine. For instance, if I ask you to imagine a lemon,
everyone reading this can imagine a lemon. If I ask you to see a lemon in
your “mind's eye;" some will be able to, some will not. For those who do not
see the lemon, if I ask you to go to the store and buy me a lemon, you
would not have to ask anyone "Which of these fruits are lemons?" You
would know so there is a non-visual image of a lemon in your mind. When I
use the words "imagine" or "visualize" you can respond out of your own
experiences of imagery or visualization.
12. To come out of the hypnotic state, say, "I come out of this hypnotic
state at the count of 3." As you count to three, you can reinforce the
suggestion between each number.
In a moment I am going to ask you to take three deep breaths at my
direction and then count from 1 to 5 and say deeper and deeper. That will
be a trigger mechanism for you to go quickly, soundly, deeply into the
hypnotic state, when you want to and only when you want to. I will say,
"Breathe in relaxation” and then “Exhale tension". We will do that three
times and then I will ask you to count to yourself from 1 to 5 and say,
"deeper and deeper", but first make a tight fist with one of your hands.
Tight enough to be a little uncomfortable; now slowly begin to relax your
hand and experience in your conscious and subconscious mind what it feels
like to relax. Let the hand just become loose and limp. Let your mind use
that relaxation of your hand as a guide or model for relaxing your whole
body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet...
(When you use this for self-hypnosis, change the pronouns to I and
progressively relax your body.) Now "Breathe in relaxation, exhale tension...
Breathe in relaxation, exhale tension... Breathe in relaxation, exhale tension"
Count to yourself from 1 to 5 and say "deeper and deeper".
Now, let your mind carry you across time, across space to a place
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where you like to go to relax. It can be outside or inside: Maybe a beach, a

room in your home, a place in the country, your own backyard, a place in
the mountains, your own patio. You know better about where you like to
relax than I do. In whatever place you choose, take in as much of the area as
you can. If it is outside; imagine or visualize the lay of the land, any
vegetation, the blue sky and the cloud formations. If your favorite place is
inside, imagine or visualize the color or designs on the walls, the furniture,
any pictures or painting. In whatever place you have chosen, imagine all the
things that are there for you to see, hear any noises that you identify with
your favorite place and experience the peace, joy and comfort that your
special place provides you.
And recognizing and realizing that as you experience all the parts of
this place...The feelings of peace, comfort, safety, relaxation and
happiness...are being taken deep within you...so that you can go deeper and
even deeper relaxed...so comfortable, so peaceful and so content...so very,
very relaxed and calm...and enjoying this special place, begin to allow your
body to relax. Beginning with your scalp muscle, let the scalp muscles relax.
As you relax your scalp muscles, you may feel a slight tingling sensation,
some people do, some do not, either is normal and natural...Now let that
relaxation flow down your face...Relaxing all the little muscles of your
forehead...Letting go of all the little worry lines, all the little frown lines,
smooth and relaxed.
Now relax the eyelids, all the little tiny muscle of the eyelids just relax
so that your eyelids want to remain shut...Now allow all the muscles of the
cheek and jaw to relax...and as the cheek and jaw muscles relax, you may
experience a slight dryness in your mouth or a little excess of moisture so
that you may want to swallow, which is perfectly alright for it just enhances
the relaxation process for you...
Now allow the neck and shoulder muscles to relax...So much stress
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builds up in the neck and shoulder muscles so that by relaxing the neck and
shoulder muscles, you reduce any discomfort you may feel throughout the
head, neck and shoulders... Just let go of the tension and relax the neck and
shoulder muscles...
Now allow the arms and hands to relax...And as you relax your arms
and hands they may feel pleasantly light or comfortably heavy...or you may
just be more aware of your arms and hands than you were before. Now
relax the back muscles and feel the relaxation flowing down your back bone
and spreading out to the right and left so that every muscle, nerve,
ligament in your back relaxes. Now relaxing the chest muscles, nerves and
organs...And as you relax the chest area, you find yourself breathing more...
easily... normally... peacefully...comfortably. Now relax the stomach and
intestinal muscles.
Now let your thigh muscles relax...let your leg muscles relax...let your
calf muscles relax...allow all the muscles, nerves, and ligaments of the feet
relax...Now allow the last bit of tension to flow down your body and out of
the soles of your feet and the tips of your fingers as water flows down a
river...More and more relaxed with each breath that you take, with each
sound that you hear...More and more relaxed.
Now go even deeper as I count backwards from 9 to 1. Go as deep as
you need to go for the success of this session. Deeper 9... Deeper 8... Deeper
7. Deeper and deeper you go... Deeper 6... Deeper 5... Deeper 4.... Deeper
and deeper you go... Deeper 3... Deeper 2... Deeper 1...(Continue with
therapy)
(16) Motor Home Relaxation Exercise and Induction: There are many
directions you can follow when you allow your subconscious mind to do it for
you... Sometimes your conscious can be confused... And you don't really know
what to do... But, that's okay because your subconscious mind can do it for
you. So as you allow yourself to relax, just imagine that you are going to
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take a bus trip down to another place... A place of deep relaxation... Where
you can allow yourself to be most receptive to do the good suggestions that I
am going to give you.
In your imagination you are taking a trip in a motor home. You are
resting on the bed of the motor home and trusting the diver to get you to
the place of deep relaxation... As you begin to relax, just imagine that you
are listening to music from the sound system as you hear the sounds of the
tape recorder in the background. As you listen to the music and my voice
you can feel the movement of the motor home as it carries you down to
another place...where you can relax and let go of all the normal routines of
everyday life. Allow it to give you a feeling of freedom, comfort, and
peace...to let go...and not need to think about anything at all... It is a time
to relax and enjoy the freedom of letting go completely.
Moving along easily...headed to that place of relaxation...listening to
soothing sounds of the music...and not really paying attention to what is
going on around you...just looking forward to a wonderful time of complete
relaxation...continuing along at a slow, but steady pace...
Everything is so calm and peaceful and you are quite certain that you
are heading in the right direction because you can trust the bus driver to get
you there... You don't remember turning left, nor do you remember turning
right... The only thing you know for sure is that you are relaxing more and
more as the motor home moves along the road to deep relaxation.
You begin wishing you were there, and you feel good knowing that you
will soon be there...knowing that there are several more turns to make you
just let the motor home carry you.... Would it be best for you to go to sleep
now, or should you wait just a little longer before going into a deep hypnotic
state so that your body feels like it is sleeping and your mind feels like it is
dreaming...getting more relaxed...listening to the music. The drowsiness keeps
increasing...The feeling of sleepiness keeps getting stranger...
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As you rest on the bed, you feel yourself getting more relaxed...now
getting more and more relaxed and you let your body relax. It's a good
time to relax...and it's a good place to relax... It feels so good to lay on the
bed and let go completely. Now allow yourself to go deeper and deeper as I
count backwards from 9 down to 1. 9 - becoming drowsier and drowsier...
8 - going down, down, down... 7 - deeper and deeper... 6 - feeling more
relaxed and comfortable... 5 - moving into a deeper and deeper; more
peaceful state... 4 - conscious awareness is narrowing down... 3 - drowsier...
2 - deeper... 1 - down, deeper and deeper...just letting the trance develop
to a depth that is best for you. It's so nice to know you can let go completely
and let your subconscious mind work for you and it is so. (Continue with
therapy)
CHAPTER 6: IMAGERY AND HEALING STORIES:
IMAGERY: The use of imagery with suggestions intensifies the
suggestion and makes it more effective. Jonathan Edwards said, "The ideas
and images in men's mind are the invisible powers that constantly govern
them." [John Roger Martin, Success Through Self-Hypnosis,, p72] St. Paul
wrote, "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." [Galatians 6:7
KJV] This says to me that what is sown by the conscious mind through
thoughts and images into the subconscious mind tends to become a reality.
Mental images gives the subconscious mind a model to work toward. The
wise old man of Proverbs once wrote, "Whatever a person thinketh his heart
so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) Einstein said, "Imagination is more important
than knowledge." and "Imagination is your preview of coming events." One
of the characteristics of the subconscious mind is that which is expected,
good or bad, tends to be realized. The most effective imaging is that which
communicates with the subconscious "in the heart". The mental picture you
hold of yourself is what directs and controls you. You can use your
imagination to improve you or destroy you.
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As one images in his mind, he plants seeds into the subconscious. If

those images are repeated often enough, one begins to reap what is sown.
How does a tiny seed grow? First, it is sown in ground that may be dry or
wet, rocky or sandy, barren or fertile. As the life forces begin to come alive
in that seed, it must break through that protective shell that surrounds it.
As life within the seed becomes stronger, the seed germinates and works its
way upward through the soil and finally it breaks through into the air.
Then it must triumph over hot sunlight, drenching rains, and heavy winds
to grow into the strong productive plant it was intended to be. The seed of
belief, faith, and hope can be planted in the soil of our subconscious and
when those images are repeated, the seed germinates and begins to grow.
Let it grow so you can become the person you can be.
In the play, "South Pacific" are the words from a song which says,
"You've got to have a dream if you want a dream to come true." Anotal
France said, "To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also
dream, not only plan, but also believe." The words of the 1940's song, "You
have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don't mess with
the Mister In-between" is good advice.
The subconscious mind seeks to meet your deepest needs, expectations,
wishes, and desires but does not always do it the way you want it done. A
very important point to remember is that the subconscious can not tell the
difference between a wish and a fear. The subconscious interprets a fear as
a wish. Fear (negative expectation) is our greatest enemy. Faith (positive
expectation) is our greatest ally. Jesus in Mark 11:14 seems to be saying
that imagery with prayer cause the prayer to be more effective. "Therefore
I say unto you that anything whatsoever you desire, when you pray, believe
ye have received it and you shall have it."
Until there is an image in the mind, there can be no reality. All great
inventions began with a thought in the mind. The inventor was able to
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visualize the invention before he could bring it to reality. The same is true of
great music, great writing, great living. If you want to change your life,
your lifestyle, your habits, you must change the image that your mind holds.
When working with a person for weight control, I have the person imagine
or visualize themselves the size they want to be as if they were that size and
to imagine stepping on the scale and weighing their desired weight. I
request that they do this each night just before going to sleep and each
morning just after they wake up from sleep.
I should point out that imagery and day-dreaming are different from
one another. Imagery motivates one to accomplish that which is visualized.
The day dreamer is satisfied with the dream and is not motivated to
accomplish the goal. Imagery is not wishful thinking but hopeful expectation
of what is desired with the motivation to believe it to reality.
The author of Proverbs 29:18 [KJV] wrote that where there is no
vision, the people perish. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote that imagination
and visualization are not magic wands, but they are important tools for the
“life more abundant.” Imaging is a kind of mental engineering that works
best when supported by religious faith, backed by prayer. [Norman Vincent
Peale, Positive Imaging, p1]
Types of Imagery:
1. Spontaneous Imagery comes to one without consciously requesting
the imagery. I can remember a time while visiting the pastor of Arcadia
Methodist Church. As I drove by the old Joy Theater (still standing, but not
in use) I could almost see myself as a 5 to 9 year old boy going to that
theater. It was usually on a Saturday afternoon and a double feather
western was the order of the day. What a good time I had in my
spontaneous age regression.
2. Induced Imagery is consciously selected for a specific purpose. One
day, as I was thinking of my dad who died in 1983, I consciously went back
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in my mind to the night before I went to college. I could see my dad plainly
as he said to me, "Paul, you are going to be taught many things while in
college. Some will be different from what you have been taught at home.
Take that which will help you whether it is like you have been taught or not
and add it to your life. If it does not help, discard it." He continued to talk
and finished his guidance with these words, "Be careful what you pray for
and what you preach against, because you might get them both."
I did not have to ask my Dad what he meant. I understood him to
mean, "If you pray to miss an event that you do not want to attend, you
may get sick and not have to attend." The prayer was answered but the
person did not want to get sick. In regards to the preaching statement; he
meant that which one preaches against most often may well be the biggest
temptation for that individual. One who preaches against the "sins of the
flesh" may get into trouble by having sex outside of marriage.
3. Concrete imagery is used to see something in detail which you
want to happen in your life. A person who desires to reduce to a specific
weight uses an imagery of stepping on the scales and seeing the exact weight
she desires to be.
4. Abstract imagery has the person in number 3, seeing a bowl of ice
cream behind a red circle with a red bar crossing the bowl. That is the
universal symbol for "reframe from."
5. General imagery is used to see yourself healthy, feeling good,
enjoying life. This imagery is used for overall achievement instead of specific
results.
6. Specific imagery is used for a specific purpose. A person with high
blood pressure
imagines taking his blood pressure and seeing 120 over 80.
7. End Results imagery is used to imagine the end result which is
desired. I have shared with you the imagery that I used before being
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selected for promotion to Brigadier General. I visualized my star being

pinned on me by the Chief of Chaplain of the Army and wearing my
general's uniform.
8. Process imagery is used in going through a process by which the
goal is achieved. A person in preparation for a speech imagines preparing
the speech, choosing just the right things to say, writing the speech,
practicing the speech, and delivering the speech.
9. Guided imagery is scripted to bring about a specific imagery.
"Imagine that you are walking down a beautiful country road. It is a
beautiful sunny day..."
An Imagery Experience: Experience as much of the following as you
possible can with as many of your senses as you can. Imagine that you are
walking along a beach, feel the sand crawling through your toes. It is a
beautiful and warm afternoon. As you walk along the beach, you can hear
the wave as they come in and as they go out.... Perhaps you see a bird
flying by... After you have walked for while, you lie down on a blanket. As
you lie on your back, you see a beautiful blue sky with a few white fluffy
clouds drifting by. After you take a short nap, you awake and go to your
car. On the way home, you have to gas up your car. Imagine the smell of
the gas as you fill your car’s tank. Finally you return home and you need a
shower. You step into the shower and the temperature of the water is too
cold, you feel yourself shivering and you reach to turn up the warm water.
Soon the water is just the right temperature and feels good and comfortable
as you finish your shower. You get out, dry off and put on your cloths. It
has been a good day and you feel wonderful. Feel a sense of peace and joy of
having experienced a good day. You can now return to this room and be
wide awake and alert.
Evaluate Your Imagery Experience:
1. Could you feel the sand crawling through your toes?
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2. Did you hear the sounds of the waves?

3. Were you able to see or image the birds flying overhead and the blue sky
with the cloud formations?
4. Could you smell the gas as you filled your car’s gas tank?
5. Could you feel the cold water?
6. Were you able to feel the peace and joy of a good day?
METAPHORS AND HEALING STORIES: In addition to direct
suggestion, indirect suggestion, and imagery; I often tell a story to bring
home a point or to allow the client hearing the story to come to his/her
own meaning to the story. Jesus often spoke in parables or stories which
still bring to mind vivid pictures which tell us something important about
life. The parables can have a different meaning to us at different times in
our lives.
One of the principles of hypnosis is repetition and there are two of
Jesus' parables (The Friend At Midnight and The Unjust Judge) which speak
to this issue. In the parable of the "Friend At Midnight" (Luke 11:5-10),
Jesus tells of a man who knocks at his neighbor's door at midnight and
requests some food for a friend who has arrived at his house unexpectedly.
At first the friend said, "Do not brother me. " but because the man was
persistent, the friend got up and gave him as much food as he needed.
What does this have to do with hypnosis? At first the subconscious (the
friend next door) is resistant to change but through persistence, in the use of
hypnotherapy, the subconscious will grant what is requested. Jesus
concludes the parable, "Ask and it shall be given to you , seek and you shall
find; knock it will be opened to you. For everyone who ask receives; and he
who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. "
In the parable of "The Unjust Judge" (Luke 18:1-8), Jesus told the
story of a judge who does not fear God and respects no one. A widow keeps
coming before him for protection from her opponents. As the woman
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persists, even after being turned down several time, the judges says,
"Because she bothers me, I will give her legal protection. Just by continually
coming, she wears me out." I leave the parable for your interpretation.
Dr. Milton Erickson used metaphors and story telling in hypnosis as
well or better than anyone. Erickson saw that stories have been used as a
way of transmitting ideas, ethics, values, and concepts since the beginning of
time. Though I do not try to be an Ericksonian Hypnotherapist, I do include
many of his techniques in my therapeutic approach.
In an article on Therapeutic Metaphors, David P. Esparza states that
the term “metaphor” comes from the Greek word meaning “to carry over
or transfer” or “to bring or to bear”. In Greek, a “metaphor” is something
that moves other things between places. A moving van or baggage cart, for
example, would literally be a “metaphor” in Greece. When applied to deeper
levels of experience, what becomes “transferred” or “carried over” by a
metaphor are relationships, placement of attention, feelings, beliefs,
thoughts, limiting values, wrong presuppositions, etc.....
According to Webster’s Dictionary, a metaphor is “a figure of speech in
which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or action is used in
place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them”. In their
book, Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson write: “The
essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in
terms of another.”
Metaphors and healing stories are used to make a point or illustrate
an idea, to directly or indirectly suggest a solution, to increase motivation,
and to decrease resistance. They can motivate us, cause us to recall some
memory from the past and to embrace new ideas in the present. Stories
can be used to sidestep some of the resistance to new ideas and actions that
direct suggestion may create. This allows the client to interpret the story
and take responsibility for needed changes. Metaphors can trigger a rich
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assortment of conscious and subconscious meanings which may give the

client new insights as to how she can overcome her problem. The metaphor
can contain examples of problem-solving strategies, coping skills, or new
perspectives which the client can use for healing.
There are times I make up a story to fit the situation and at other
times I use a story from my script/story book. Often the client will come up
with a meaning to the story that you didn't even think about and it has
greater impact than the intended meaning.
Therapeutic metaphors are used as tools for facilitating new patterns
of thoughts, feelings and behavior. If constructed properly, they are very
successful and powerful in fostering the change because they communicate
directly with the subconscious mind, bypassing the critical faculty of the
conscious mind.
Metaphors and stories, in a therapeutic context, may be useful:
1. To make or illustrate a point.
2. To provide a key mechanism for changing our modes of representing the
world.
3. To cause something to be remembered.
4 To seed ideas and increase motivation.
5. To make, demonstrate, explain or illustrate a point.
6. To create generative realities.
7. To open up possibilities and strategies.
8. To carry multiple levels of information.
9. To facilitate new patterns of thoughts, behavior and feelings.
10. To reframe or redefine a problem or situation.
11. To provide or guide associations and thinking along certain lines.
12. To allow the client to form a choice or find his own direction.
13. To bypass normal ego defenses.
14. To allow the client to process directly at a subconscious level (indirect
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suggestions).
15. To shift the subject or redirect the discussion.
16. To suggest solutions and new options.
17. To provide a gateway between the conscious and the unconscious.
18. To pass suggestions to the subconscious mind.
19. To increase rapport and communication.
20. To facilitate retrieval of resource experiences.
21. To lighten up the mood.
Healing stories can motivate us, cause us to recall some memory from
the past and to embrace new ideas in the present. Stories can be used to
sidestep some of the resistance to new ideas and actions that direct
suggestion often causes. Often a story will be more effective than a direct
suggestion, using direct suggestion and indirect suggestion with healing
stories is even more effective.

Chapter 7: Healing Stories and Guided Images:

(1) The Man/Woman Who Used Crutches: (A story that I often tell
when working with a person to help them overcome an unwanted habit goes
like this): There was a man or a woman, depending on the sex of the client,
who lived in a strange country. Now this was a strange country because
most of the adults walked with crutches even though they had no physical
handicap requiring crutches. Now there were disadvantages to using
crutches. They slowed the person down and caused them to interfere with
the safety of others as they might bump into another or accidentally trip
another person.
This man had been using crutches for many year even though he did
not have a disability that required it, it was just a habit. One day as this
man was walking several blocks from his home, he saw the little boy who
lived next to him. As the little boy was crying and only three years old, the
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man assumed that he was lost. Without thinking, the man dropped his
crutches, took the boy by the hand and walked him home. The mother was
overjoyed for her son had been lost. Later that night, the man remembered
that he had left his crutches on the street where he had found the little boy.
His first thought was to run down to the street and see if he could find his
crutches. He realized that if he could not find his crutches, he could go to a
convenience store and buy a new pack. Realizing that he had gone several
hours without his crutches, the man said to himself, "If I have gone without
my crutches for this long, I can do so for the rest of my life." He did and so
can you.
(2) The Heavy Backpack: (This imagery is used to help a person release
conscious and subconscious reasons for smoking, overweight or other
problems such as an individual who has difficulty in experiencing forgiveness.
Of course the wording will be a little different for each. For illustration, I
will use the imagery as I would for work with a person who wants to stop
smoking.)
After induction and deepening, I suggest that the client visualize
himself walking down a beautiful country road. To the left of the country
road is a field of beautiful flowers of various colors, sizes and shapes and if
the wind is blowing just right, you may even be able to smell the flowers.
Beyond the flowers is a forest of majestic trees standing tall and proud. To
the right of the road is a pasture of green grass, at the foot of the pasture is
a lake of blue, clear water. By the lake of blue, clear water are some trees,
and there is a stream that flows from the hill in front of you, down by the
trees, into the lake of blue, clear water.
There is only one thing wrong with this beautiful scene. On your back
is a heavy backpack. It is weighting you down and preventing you from fully
enjoying this walk in the country. All of a sudden, you realize that there is
nothing in the backpack which you need for your journey. In fact, the
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backpack contains all of the conscious and subconscious reason why you
smoke.
I can't remove that backpack from your back, but you can. You can
be free of the heavy backpack. It is a decision for you to make. Attached to
each of your fingers is a trigger mechanism which will release the backpack
if one of your fingers rise. If you want to be released from the conscious and
subconscious need to smoke, one of your fingers will feel very, very light, so
light that it floats upwards. When the finger rises, the backpack will
automatically fall from your back. Now just allow one of your fingers to
rise. It may be the first finger on your right hand or the first finger of your
left hand, it could be the second or third, or your little finger, it could even
be the thumb. By lifting a finger, you are symbolically letting go. That is
good. Your first finger of your right hand is floating up. The backpack is
gone! You feel free and comfortable. As the heavy weight of the backpack
is gone, you feel a great relief. For the first time in (number of years they
have smoked) years you are free of the conscious and subconscious need to
smoke.
(3) The Story of the Great As If: (I use this story while working with a
person to be a non-smoker who responds best to indirect suggestions. I
suggest that if he acts "as if" he is a non-smoker, he is a non-smoker,
because a non-smoker doesn't smoke.) Let me tell you the story of "the
great as if." This is the story of a young prince who was destined to be the
king of his country. Now this young prince had some concerns about his
ability to be king just as you may have some concerns about being a non-
smoker. One day, he got out of bed waddling and quacking like a duck and
refused to eat anything but duck food.
The king was greatly upset, so he called in the wisest man in the
kingdom. When told of the situation, the wise man said, "Give me three
days with the prince and he will be cured." The wise man went to the door
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of the prince's room, knocked and was invited in. He waddled into the
room and quacked like a duck. The prince and the wise man soon became
good friends.
That night the wise man slipped out of the room and told the king to
have clothes placed on the chairs for the next morning. When morning
came, the wise man got out of bed, waddled across the room, quacking like
a duck and put on his clothes. The prince said, "You can't be a duck, ducks
can't wear clothes." The wise man replied, "Where is it written that a duck
can't wear clothes?" The prince said, "Well, I guess you are right," so he too
put on his clothes.
That night the wise man slipped out of the room and told the king to
put the duck food on a plate and put it on the floor. The next morning the
wise man got out of bed, waddled across the room quacking like a duck, put
on his clothes, got down on his hand and knees and began to eat from the
plate. The prince said, "You can't be a duck, ducks don't eat out of a plate."
To which the wise man replied, "Where is it written that a duck can't eat
out of a plate?" The prince said, "I guess you are right," and so he too began
to eat from the plate.
That night, the wise man told the king to set the table with regular
breakfast food on plates with knives, forks and spoons . The next morning,
the wise man got out of bed, waddled across the room quacking like a duck,
put on his clothes, sat down at the table, picked up the fork and began to
eat. The young prince said, "You can't be a duck, ducks don't use forks." To
which the wise man responded, "Where is it written that a duck can't us a
fork?" The prince said, "I guess you are right," so he too picked up the fork
and began to eat.
Later that day, the wise man said to the prince, "I must return to my
own barnyard today, but I would like to leave you with this advice:
Remember that our national holiday is coming up next week and our
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nation's favorite food for the holiday is duck. If you don't want to end up
on someone's table as a main course for the holiday meal, continue to act as
if you are a prince." The prince did such a good job of acting as if he were a
prince that he became the greatest king that his country ever had. Act as if
you are a non-smoker and you are a non-smoker because a non-smoker
doesn’t smoke.
(4) For Those Who Doubt the Value of Hypnosis: "Hypnosis just can't
be as helpful as you suggest. It is just too easy." Perhaps you have heard
people make statements like this concerning hypnosis. For those who doubt
the value of hypnosis, I would like to tell you this Biblical story found in II
Kings 5:1-15, concerning Naaman the leper. Now this story has little to do
with hypnosis... or does it? It does have something to do with belief and
expectation.
If Naaman were to live in our day, he would wear the medal of honor
and would probably be the Chairman of the Military Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He was a proud and successful man who had many servants. Among those
servants was a young captive taken in battle with Israel. She was the maid
of Naaman's wife. When it was discovered that Naaman had leprosy, she
told her mistress of the Prophet Elisha in her home country of Israel. The
maid was certain that Elisha could work a miracle and restore Naaman's
health.
Following the advice of his wife's maid, Naaman set out for Israel with
an official letter from the King of Syria and gold worth thousands of dollars.
When he arrived at Elisha's house, Elisha sent a messenger out to greet him.
The messenger said to Naaman, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times
and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be cleaned."
Naaman was angry because Elisha did not come out to meet him and
perform some spectacular act to restore his health. Instead, a messenger
tells him to go wash in the Jordan River. Naaman probably thought to
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himself, "What a waste of time. We have better rivers in Syria than the
Jordan and our rivers cannot heal." Naaman left Elisha's house in anger,
but his servant said, "If the prophet had commanded you to do some great
thing, would you not have done it? How about following his suggestion that
you wash and be healed?"
In order for healing to take place, Naaman had to change his belief
system and his expectation. If Naaman could muster enough faith to believe,
perhaps change would be possible. In truth, when Naaman went to the
Jordan and bathed seven times, he was healed.
Those who have trouble believing that hypnosis can be helpful need to
be reminded of the power of one's belief system. Believe it will work, expect
it to work, visualize it working, and practice it working. Only when
Naaman could believe, expect, visualize, and actually go to the Jordan and
wash seven times could he be healed.
(5) Grandma and Dancing and Snoopy and Dancing: (I use this story
for a person who has trouble enjoying life. This is especially effective with
those who seem to fear that enjoying life is somehow wrong.)
My Grandma Sanders was one of the most reflective persons of the
love of God that I have ever known, but Grandma had her hangups. I
remember spending the night with my grandparents many years ago
because during that visit my grandpa played his french harp. It was a very
special evening and it stands out in my memory.
During the evening my grandpa played a snappy little tune called
"Soldiers Joy". When he completed the song, my grandma said, "I don't like
that song!" I quickly asked, "Why grandma? It is a beautiful song."
Laughingly she responded, "I have seen it danced too often." I don't resent
my grandma for that statement, because she was joking and in a way she
was reflecting 65 years of her cultural history. It does bring to mind how
much some have missed because they could not dance.
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We live in a world where there is hunger, war, crime, sickness, and

alienation. Yet in spite of this, we believe that life is worth living and that
life is meant to bring love, friendship, understanding, and joy. Contrary to
popular belief, the life which God desires for us is not one of denying
worthwhile pleasure or of despising basic human satisfaction, but rather one
of enjoying our earthly life.
We honor God not by renouncing life, but by joining our spirits with
God's Holy Spirit to know and live life at its best. Then we can give thanks
in offering our faith to God, in sharing of fellowship with people in work and
play, in laughter and in tears, in health and in sickness, in everything.
Through faith, we can dance the dance of joy. David wrote in Psalms 30,
"O Lord, Thou has turned my lament into dancing, thou has stripped off my
sack cloth and clothed me with joy."
The Snoopy of Peanuts is often leaping and dancing for joy. On one
occasion, Snoopy begins to dance about and shouts, "To dance is to live." In
the next frame he says, "I feel sorry for people who cannot dance." In the
last frame he continues to dance joyfully and says to us, "If you can't dance,
at least be able to do a happy hop." I would like to add one more frame
which shows Snoopy continuing to dance and saying, "If you can't dance
with your feet, at least be able to dance in your heart." That to me is a
picture of wholesome living.
I hope you will join me in the dance of joy. It is becoming the person
you can be and were meant to be. It helps you reach your potential as a
person, therefore you can dance the dance of joy.
(6) When the Patterns Are Shattered: George Gershwin once said to a
friend, "The pattern is always being shattered." An unexpected illness, an
accident, a handicap, a financial loss, a broken marriage, a
misunderstanding with a friend, all make for shattering experiences. These
experiences often leave us exhausted and frustrated with life and these set
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backs often seem to be without meaning. Somewhere in all the pain, hurt,
loss, confusion, and unrest, there is potential. There is a pattern that can be
found, there is hope and meaning to be experienced.
If we look for meaning, we can find meaning even in those shattering
experiences. There have been many people who have heard the disturbing
sounds, but have refused to adopt them as the music of their life. Instead,
they found a different sound with a different tempo and made them
harmonious, exciting and danceable.
An exciting example from the sports world is Tom Dempsey, now a
retired football player. In 1970, Tom Dempsey set the sport's world to
talking with an astonishing 63 yard field goal which was an NFL record for
many years. It was unbelievable when you considered he kicked the football
with only half a foot. Tom was born with only half a right foot and
deformed right hand. Instead of allowing these shattering facts to destroy
his life or dictate his future, Tom set out to experience meaning in his life.
He refused to allow the shattering fact of his handicap prevent him from a
purposeful life. For one reason or another, we may have to face unfavorable
situations, but the way we face them is up to us. We can let them defeat us
through bitterness, or we can resolve that we will make the best of the
conditions which limit our lives and find meaning in spite of them.
(7) The Waitress and the Little Boy: Maxie Dunnan tells a story by
Earl Loonis of a little boy who went to a café with his mother and older
sister. [Maxie Dunnan Dance At My Funeral, p91] The waitress took the
order of the mother and sister and then said to the little boy, "What will
you have, young man?" His sister spoke, "I'll order for him." Again the
waitress asked and the mother answered, "I'll order for him." As if not
hearing, the waitress repeated, "Young man, what will you have?" "A
hamburger," the boy replied. "Would you like it rare, medium or well
done?" "Well done, please," said the boy. "Would you like mustard, pickles,
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onions, relish or ketchup?" With a smile on his face he replied, "The whole
works!" As the waitress walked away, she heard the boy say, "Gee Mommy,
she thinks I am real."
Real life gives us a new self image which allows us to love ourselves. As
a result of being affirmed by the waitress, the little boy was able to feel good
about himself and affirm his own self worth. As we are able to affirm
ourselves, we grow emotionally and spiritually.
We begin to realize that love and power is available to help us move
beyond our limitations to our potential. Through faith we can realize our
talents, our abilities, our potential and use them for our own good and for
the good of others. We can look into our mind (conscious) and our hearts
(subconscious) to see our possibilities and our ability to overcome our failures
and limitations. If you can catch a glimpse of your importance, you can
begin to live real life here and now.
(8) The Cave and the Flower: Each day the shepherd boy would lead
his sheep to their food and water. He watched over them, protected them,
and tended to their every need. As he cared for the sheep, he often picked
flowers to give to his mother at the close of the day. One day, as he was
leading the sheep to the field, he saw a very beautiful flower on the side of
the cliff. When he pulled the flower, a cave door opened before him. He
was greatly surprised and a bit frightened, for nothing like this had ever
happened to him before.
As he cautiously walked into the cave, he looked around. To his
amazement, he saw piles of sparkling diamonds, opals, rubies, and other
precious stones. He tossed the flower aside and filled his pockets and both
hands full of these precious stones. As he started to leave, he heard a voice,
"Do not forget the best." The boy thought, "Nothing could be better than
these precious stones." As he walked out of the cave with his hands and
pockets full, the cave door closed behind him and the stones turned to dust.
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You see, he had forgotten the best. What had opened the cave to the
treasure? "The flower." The little boy had forgotten the best - "the flower"
- for without the flower, nothing taken from the cave had any value.
The voice in the cave said "Do not forget the best." This statement call
upon us to choose the best, to look for the important, to visualize the correct
course of action, to set our priorities in order, to love our self, to love others,
and to love God.
(9) The Winds of Circumstance: To those who feel they have no
choices because of their situation, I say, "As long as you have mental
capacity, you have a choice." You may be living with an illness or injury
which has greatly limited your life. You may be living in a very trying time,
faced with problems in your work, in your home, in your finances. You may
feel that you are an innocent bystander in a world of conflict of which you
feel you have no control. The winds of circumstance do blow, and they may
not always blow in the way you want to go. Though you can't regulate the
wind, you do have a choice.
Ella Wheeler Wilson sat by the East River in New York years ago
reflecting on the fact that people coming from the same home environment
turn out so differently. Inspired by some boats sailing on the river she
wrote, "One ship drives east and the other drives west with the self same
winds that blow. Tis the set of the sail and not the gales which tells us the
way to go."
Consider Abraham Lincoln. The winds of circumstances could have
blown him in the direction of mediocrity or ignorance, but he set his sails
properly in the gale winds of circumstance. Every gust of wind became for
him an opportunity to educate and improve himself. He had a vision of
himself as a leader of people and so he made the adjustment necessary to
live out that vision. He prepared himself properly to become a fitting person
for the responsibility of sailing the great American ship of state during the
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great storm of the Civil War. You too can have a new vision of yourself and
use the winds of life to help you realize that vision.
(10) Light A Candle: Aldours Hupley said, "Experience is not what
happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you." We can
always choose what attitude we take toward almost anything that comes
into our life. We can hate or love, we can resist or run, we can worry about
it or we can pray about it. We can accept it as a crushing blow of defeat or
we can move in a different but positive direction.
No matter how dark a situation may appear to be, one usually has the
choice of turning on the light. The Christophers have a saying, "It is better
to light one candle than to curse the darkness." Eve Butterworth tells the
story of a young girl who lost her eyesight. Everyone felt sorry for her and
even felt that the tremendous turmoil of fear and bitterness she went
through was justified. After all, she was blind. She seemed to be in a
hopeless situation leading to a life of bitterness in a world of darkness.
One day something happened to change her thinking about her life.
She said, "I may never again see light, but I can think light." She regained a
sense of control over her life for she realized that she did, after all, have a
choice. Now she goes about everything she does with an attitude that is an
inspiration to all who know her and it is amazing how many things she has
discovered she can do. You too can change your attitude toward life and in
the process change your life.
(11) Is There A Gold Mine In Your Attic?: A few years ago, a large
daily newspaper carried a news item under the title, "Is there a gold mine in
your attic?" The story that followed was very interesting. With memories
of yesteryear, an elderly woman was looking through her collection of the
years, which she had stored in her attic. In an old bureau drawer she found
a faded yellow envelope containing some valuable looking documents. She
looked at them for a while and then decided to take them to the bank to
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see if they were of any value.

You can imagine her astonishment when she was told that her bonds
were worth $60,000 on the current market. The author concluded the
article with this statement: "There may not be a gold mine in the attic of
your home, for as Russell Conwell once said, 'There are acres of diamonds all
around you that have not been discovered." In the attic of your mind is a
gold mine, for when you learn to use your mind correctly, change can take
place for good in your life.
(12) Take Off the Layers: (The following story is my adaptation of Dr.
Arthur Winkler's "Taking Off Layers." [E. Arthur Winkler, Hypnotic
Inductions and Prescription, p138-140])
There was a young woman who lived in a very cold part of the world.
It was always winter and it was always cold. The land was barren and
frozen. She lived by herself and always seemed to be cold. She had a fire
place in her house, but she found it difficult to find enough wood to keep the
house warm.
In order to stand the cold, she kept adding layer upon layer of
clothing, trying to keep herself warm. As she put on more and more
clothes, she looked larger and larger. In fact, she had on so many clothes
that she looked to fat. She was very unhappy and spent most of her time
trying to keep warm.
All of the other people in the area had moved away and she felt lonely
and sad. One day there was a knock on her door. She got up from her
chair and waddled slowly to the door. She opened the door just a crack,
trying to keep the cold wind from blowing in. She peeked through the crack
and asked, "Who is there?"
A woman responded, "I'm here to notify you that everyone is being
evacuated from this place. You must come with me." The young woman
protested, "I can't leave my house. I have nowhere to go." The stranger
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assured her that they would provide her with a place to live. Fearfully she
waddled out and they started walking on a long journey.
"Where are you taking me and what will I do?" she asked, "Just trust
me, I'm taking you where you will be warm and happy." As the young
woman had never known warmth or happiness, she was still fearful. They
followed a path through desolate waste lands. When they had walked for
several days, she noticed the landscape was changing.
She saw some shrubs and they had leaves. As they continued she
began to notice some trees with leaves. One day as they walked she could
feel moisture trickling over her body. She asked the stranger what the
moisture was and she told her that the moisture was sweat. The leader
explained to the woman that sweat comes from her because she was too
warm. The leader told her to take off a layer or two of outer clothes. She
followed the leader’s suggestion and felt more comfortable, much lighter,
more free, and she could walk easily.
Each day she experienced greater delight as to how she felt. The sun
was shining more, the sky was beautifully blue and she noticed that she was
enjoying things that she had never noticed before. As she became warmer,
she took off another layer of outer clothes. She felt much better and much
lighter. She was able to walk faster, breathe easier, and she felt much
better.
One day they arrived in a land of beautiful gardens with a beautiful
lake. As she looked into the water and saw her reflection, she was pleased
to notice her true self, her slender self. With all but one layer of outer
clothes gone, she saw that she was quite attractive.
She saw herself as beautiful, she felt joyful, and full of energy. She felt
like dancing and singing. Each day she kept feeling more free, healthier and
more energetic. Her slenderness delighted her.
Symbolically you are realizing that this woman is you. This can be
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your story as you get rid of layers and layers of unneeded and unwanted
body fat. Everyday your self confidence keeps increasing and you feel
happier slimmer and trimmer. Keep the image of yourself the size you want
to be in your mind, eat properly, exercise appropriately and your
subconscious mind helps you reach your goal.
(13) Breaking Through Shells: A few years ago, the cover of the April
issue of the religious publication, Daily Word, showed a fluffy, golden chick
that had just stepped out of a broken shell. As this was the Easter edition,
several people wrote to Daily Word saying that they did not think the cover
was religious enough for the occasion. Yet, I wonder if there is anything
more religious than a broken shell and new life rising out of it.
Is there a shell you need to break through today (you may mention
the shell by name). Sometimes these shells are caused by physical
limitations, sometimes emotional limitations, spiritual limitations and
sometimes a combination of any or all three.
The fertilized egg begins to develop a baby chick. By an interaction,
growth, and development, the chick begins to grow. It begins to pick at its
shell until it breaks and the chick is freed. We have within our mind, the
ability to grow and develop beyond what we had thought possible. By your
mental unfolding, you can leave your hurts, disappointments and failures
behind and break through your shell.
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 the limits give way and it is able to stand erect and free. If a little
chick can break through such a shell, you can break through your shell.
(14) Night and Day: (I have used this story with an individual who
was working to overcome prejudice or anger toward another.) A rabbi
asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day
was dawning. "Could it be," asked one student, "when you see an animal at
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a distance and can tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?" "No", answered the
rabbi. "Could it be," asked another, "when you can look at a tree in the
distance and tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?" "No", said the
rabbi. "Well then, when is it?" one students demanded. "It is when you look
on the face of any woman or man and see that she or he is your sister or
brother because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it, it is still
night."
(15) The Prize Pig: (This story can be used to show the need for inner
change in order for meaningful change to be lasting.) The farmer was so
proud of his prize pig that he gave the pig a bath, polished his hooves, put
some perfume on the pig and brought him into the house as a pet.
Everything was okay until someone left the door open and the pig got
outside. Once outside the house, he jumped into the first mud puddle that
he could find. The farmer cleaned the pig, perfumed the pig and trained
the pig to be a house pet, but he had not changed the fact that he was still
a pig.
For you to reach your potential as a person, you need more than a
mere change in outward appearance, you need a change in the subconscious.
If your subconscious is willing to change, you find a way to make the
outward changes permanent. This inner change can take place in your life
and helps you meet your goal.
(16) "The Painting Worth Thousand:: (Use to improve self-
confidence and to help the client make desired changes.) Within you is the
power to overcome for "The Kingdom of God is Within you." H.C. Haney
tells the story of cleaning out his basement. As he was discarding this and
keeping that, he came across an old painting.
The painting was dirty and unattractive, so his first thought was to
throw it in the trash, but he remember it hanging above the fireplace in his
parent's home. He decided to have it cleaned and it was found to be a
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painting by Thomas Gansborough who also painted the famous "Blue Boy".
The painting which was thought to be a piece of trash, was worth several
thousand dollars. If he had thrown what looked to be worthless in the
trash, he would have robbed himself of the privilege which the painting
brought to him.
Each of us has a spark of greatness within us. We are made in the
image of God. We are of great worth. You are of great worth. I once saw
a little plaque which had engraved upon it, "I'm me and I'm wonderful
because God don't make no junk." That statement may contain bad
grammar, but it has a great message. That's marvelous, isn't it? You are
the handiwork of God and God don't make no junk. Allow that greatness
within to be realized as H.C. Haney discovered the value of the painting and
as the plaque states that you are of great worth.
(17) Star War: (I use this story to help a person see the great value of
belief and expectation.) One of the most popular movie series to come out in
recent years has been the "Star War" movies. I would like to focus on the
second one "The Empire Strikes Back". If you saw the movie, you may
remember that the heroes and villains of the first movie are still involved in
the plot. Once again, we find ourselves engaged with Luke Skywalker, Hon
Salo, Princess Leia, Chuebaca, and robots: Artoo - Detoo and See-Three-
Pi-O, as they do battle with Death Vader and the Legions of the Dark
Empire.
One of the most fascinating new characters of "The Empire Strikes
Back" is a strange fellow named “Yoda.” The short, odd looking little
individual is the master teacher of the Jedi Knights. The Jedi Knights are
commissioned as universal agents of goodness and righteousness.
Luke Skywalker was sent to Yoda for training to become a Jedi
Knight, but the training did not always run smoothly. When Yoda tried to
teach Luke to raise his space ship from a swamp through the force of
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thought and imagery, Luke fails. After Luke's failure to move the ship, Yoda
levitates the space ship up and out of the swamp by thought alone. Luke
watches in amazement saying, "I don't believe it!" Yoda responds, "That is
why you failed."
The "Star War" movies are fictitious, but the story of Luke Skywalker
and Yoda can be looked upon as a parable. Imagery is a powerful source of
healing, overcoming unwanted habits, increasing self-worth, and making
positive changes in your life. Imagery consists of vividly picturing in your
conscious mind a desired goal or objective and holding that image until it
sinks into your subconscious mind, where it releases great, untapped
energies. Imagery is based upon the principle that there is a deep tendency
in human nature to ultimately become precisely that which one imagines
himself to be. The wise old man of Proverbs states, "Whatever a person
thinketh in his heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) Jesus said, "Whatsoever you
ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours."
(Mark 11:24 (KJV))
(18) The Man Who Wanted Deliverance: For two years, I lived in the
Buddhist Nation of Thailand and there is an interesting story connected
with Gautama Buddha which I would like to share with you. Gautama
Buddha vowed that he would not rest unless he could find the way of life,
the path of deliverance. The story is told that after he thought he had
found the way, a certain man came asking Buddha to show him the way.
Buddha led the man down to a river. The man assumed that he was
to undergo a ritual of purification. When they were some distance out in
the stream, Buddha suddenly grabbed the man and pushed his head under
the water. In a last minute effort the man pulled himself free and quickly
brought his head out of the water. As soon as his head was out of the
water, Buddha asked him, "When you thought you were going to drown,
what did you want most?" The man gasped, "air". Back came Buddha's
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reply, "When you want deliverance as much as you wanted air, then you will
have it."
(19) The Sower and the Seed: (I use this story to illustrate that
within us is the power to change.) Jesus once told a parable of a sower who
went forth to sow seeds for a harvest. This parable speaks of a sower, seeds,
soil and harvest.
A man went out to sow seeds in his field. Some of the seeds feel on
the pathway that runs between the fields, but because the earth was very
hard, the seed could not get a hold in the ground and the birds ate the seed.
Some of the seeds fell on the thin soil and though the plant came up quickly,
they soon died because the seed could not develop deep roots. Some seeds
fell on the soil where it could grow, but there were so many weeds that the
new plants were choked by the weeds. Other seeds fell on good soil and
when the plants came up they produced many times over.
I am aware that this parable is usually interpreted to show that the
four types of soil represent four different types of people. I would like to
suggest another interpretation that the four types of soil mean - within
each person is the possibility of responding in four different ways.
You can allow the positive suggestion given to you today to fall on
hard ground where they are not allowed to grow. You can allow them to
take hold, but not firmly committed to change, you do not allow them to
take root. You can allow them to be choked out by negative thoughts, fears
or doubts. But, if you are ready for changes, you allow them to fall on good
soil and sink into your subconscious where they are allowed to grow and
bear fruit. Within you is the good soil, so let the suggestions grow and
develop so that you can make the changes you want in your life.
(20) The Stoney Heart: (I use this to help people let go of guilt.) On
February 24, 1948, one of the most unusual operations in medical history
took place in Ohio State University's Department of Research Surgery. A
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stony shield was removed from around the heart of a man named Henry
Bushara.
When Henry was a small boy, he was accidentally shot by a playmate
with a 22 rifle. The bullet lodged near his heart, but could not be removed
at the time. As a result, a stony deposit began to form a covering over the
heart which was gradually strangling the life from him. The operation was
a delicate one, removing the stony covering from the heart as one would
peel an orange. After the successful operation, Henry said, "I feel a thousand
percent better."
You have shared with me your need to feel forgiveness for such and
such. You have asked God to forgive you, and He has. Now you have need
to forgive yourself. As you forgive yourself, you guilt is removed and you,
like Henry Bushara, feel a thousand percent better.
(21) Light At the End Of The Tunnels: I remember the story of a
woman who wrote of her daughter's fear of tunnels as a child. As they
traveled, the child would cling to her mother and press her face against her
mother the moment they entered a tunnel. She would raise her head only
after being assured that they had passed through the tunnel.
Several years later, they were traveling down the Pennsylvania
Turnpike and approached a tunnel. The daughter had been gone from home
for years so her mother wondered how her daughter would react to the
tunnel. As they traveled through the tunnel, the girl did not seem upset
and maintained a pleasant attitude. The mother reminded her daughter of
her childhood fear of tunnels and asked her what brought about the change.
The girl replied, "Mother, I found out that tunnels have light at both ends."
When you were a child, you responded to a situation out of the context of a
little child. As an adult, you can look at those events from a different
perspective. You can now view the experiences of the past that contribute to
your problems, leave them behind and move through your tunnel to the
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light at the other end.

(22) The Spring Within: A young minister who had served for many
years as associate pastor in a big downtown church moved to a small rural
congregation. On his first visit to one member's home, he was invited to eat
supper. The eating was good, for they had fried chicken, vegetables, freshly
baked bread and rolls, and for dessert a piece of hot blueberry pie topped
with a big dip of vanilla ice cream.
It was a very nice meal, but something was bothering the minister.
All during the dinner, he could hear the sound of water running. Back in
the city that was bad news for it meant that someone had left the tap open
or that was a leak in the plumbing. For two hours after supper he listened
to the sound of the water running, but finally had to ask about it.
With a smile, the host explained the situation to the minister. It seems
that many years ago when the people decided to build, they discovered a
spring of water right in the middle of the property. They built the house
around the spring. For all these many years, the people who lived in the
house had been refreshed and nourished by the spring of water that was
welling up right at the center of their home. At the center of your being is
a spring that is available for you. As you imagine this spring at work, you
can experience right now the spring of God's love within you to bring
healing, strength, and peace, to renew and refresh your life.
(23) The Giraffes at the Zoo. (I use this story to help people see that
many of their feelings are minor and can be overcome by a change of
attitude.) John R. Aurello tells the story of giraffes at the San Diego Zoo.
[John R. Aurello, Fables for God’s People, p9] The giraffes live in a natural
habitat area of the zoo. In this natural habitat are several of these
magnificent animals. These giraffes are tall and graceful animals.
Though they are tall and appear to be thin, they are far more massive
and muscular than expected. Their necks are thick and their legs short and
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more powerful than one expects. They have a kick that can send ambitious
lions running away.
These massive, stately animals are enclosed in a small compound that
seems far too restricting for their size and power. They were not caged in
nor were there bars or walls to keep them in the area. The only thing
keeping them in the area was a simple moat which was no deeper than the
giraffe's knee and circles the compound. Freedom is but a few steps away,
but they are trapped. All of them are afraid and not one of them will take
the risk of stepping down and across the moat because of fear. The giraffes
will not cross the moat but you can. If you are ready to cross the moat to
freedom, let one of your fingers rise.
(24) Looking Through the Telescope: A little boy was given a
telescope with instructions on how to use it. As the little boy could not read,
he was unable to correctly adjust the telescope. In spite of that, he was
proud of his telescope and carried it wherever he went. Though he looked
through it often, what he saw was all blurred because he did not know how
to focus it.
One day a friend asked, "Do you know how to look through your
telescope?" The question irritated the little boy and he answered, "Of
course, I look through it lots." The friend took the telescope, carefully
adjusted it to a distant scene and handed it back to the boy. The boy was
overwhelmed by what he saw. Looking through a telescope and looking
through it properly is as different as a blur is from a sharp clear scene.
There is a great difference between just living life and living a full
meaningful life. You can now focus your life so that you enjoy the full life
that the creator meant for you.
(25) Stopping Too Soon: So often in our life, we begin to make
changes in our lives, but for some reason, we feel the process is moving too
slowly so we stop short of our goal. I would like to share with you a story
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told by Dr. Robert E. Goodrich. Several years ago when Dr. Goodrich was
pastor of the First Methodist Church of Dallas, Texas, he and his family were
on vacation. As it was late in the afternoon and seeing nothing of
importance to them, they returned to the nearest town for the night. That
night, they met some friends who told them of one of the most beautiful
sights that they could hope to see. After the friends had told them what
highway to travel, Dr. Goodrich responded that they traveled that road this
very day and saw nothing outstanding. The friend asked, "How far did you
go?" When told, the friend replied, "That's the trouble, you turned around
too soon. Had you gone just over the next ridge, you would have seen a
sight that you could never forget. The Goodrich’s stopped too soon and
therefore had no idea what was on the other side of the bridge. Continue to
go forward to a new way of life for you which is as meaningful as the scene
that was just over the ridge.
(26) Let Go of the Weights: (I use this to help a person see the need
to let go of habits or negative influences from the past that may be
preventing them from living the full life.) St. Paul uses the imagery of
running a race to running the race of life. He wrote, "Let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrew 12:1b) A weight is
something that is not bad for a person in and of itself, but something that a
person can allow to become a problem because of the priority he puts on it.
For instance, a football or hockey player would be foolish to play without all
their protective equipment. On the other hand, a basketball or tennis player
would be foolish to play with shoulder pads, thigh pads, helmets and so on.
You have been carrying the weight of (here mention the problem which the
client is seeking to overcome.) And now you can let them go so you can run
the race of life to the fullest.
Though it was illegal, a man in Tennessee killed a large eagle with a
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charge of bird shot. The hunter wondered how this king of air, which was
usually so wild, would allow him to get close enough for a shot. When the
hunter picked up the bird, he found an old steel trap fastened to the eagle's
leg. That trap did not kill the eagle, it did not stop him from flying, but it
did slow him down so that the hunter get close enough to shot it. Are you
ready to get rid of (name the problem which the client is seeking to
overcome). If so, lift one of the fingers on your hand and let it go.
(27) Tadpoles to Frogs: The Psalmist once wrote, "When I consider
thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou
has ordained, what is man, that Thou has take thought of him? And the
Son of Man thou hast care for Him?" (Ps 8:3-4)
The Psalmist answers his own question about the importance of people.
Remember when the Psalmist uses the word "man" in these verses, he means
both male and female. He means you and me. The Psalmist wrote his
answer, "Yet, Thou has made him a little lower than God, and has crowned
him with glory and honor. Thou hast made him to rule over the works of
thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet". (Ps 8:5-6)
God has made you in His image. You are just a little lower than God.
You are special. Thus God speaks to you, "You are very special to me. I
made you. I made you in My Image. I love you. I have given you life. Use,
enjoy, discover, learn, become the person I made you to be. Keep on
becoming the person you can be, living fully and experience My love for you.
You are special".
My sister, Sybil Waldrop, tells a story about tadpoles in her book
"Getting Good at Being You" [C. Sybil Waldrop, Getting Good At Being You,
Nashville, TN, Monarch Press, 2001, p14]which I would like to share with
you. She writes, "As a young child, the most delightful and memorable
experience I had of God's handiwork was watching tadpoles change into
frogs. When I was growing up, my father was pastor of four or five
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churches at a time. When he preached away from our hometown, we would

spend the afternoon with a family who attended the local church. One of
my favorite things to do was to find a glass jar and walk along the road in
search of a puddle of water where I could find frog eggs-little black balls-
each protected by a coat of transparent jelly. Carefully, I would place the
jar mouth beneath my wonderful discovery and gather the eggs into the jar.
Day by day I would watch as tiny black balls changed into wiggling tadpoles
which grew bigger and bigger. A long tail developed and gradually
disappeared as frogs formed. Soon tiny amphibious frogs emerged; such was
the dramatic transformation. Later I learned the term metamorphosis to
describe this change".
God and you can work together to bring about a transformation in
your life. You can live a fuller life as you make changes in your life which
are beneficial to you. If God can change a tadpole into a frog, just think
what he can do with you, the highest of his creation.
Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts:
(1) Building Self-Confidence: These suggestions and instructions I'm
telling you now are going into the storehouse of your mind and are
progressively having a greater influence over you. Each day these
suggestions keep becoming more effective, and they help you in many
different ways: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
The things that I say are influencing your thoughts, your feelings and
your actions in a positive, helpful way.
Even after you awaken from the hypnotic state, and at all times
during your daily life, these suggestions continue influencing you just as
surely as they do while you are in the hypnotic state of relaxation.
You are pleased with the improvement in your life. The improvement
is progressive. As each day passes you continue improving more, and you
can be sure it is permanent and lasting.
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As I talk to you, you keep going into a deeper, more peaceful, more
detached state. Everything I tell you becomes deeply reinforced in your
mind, and your mind is causing it to work so you continue progressing in
everything you do.
You can be more calm and relaxed during your daily life and that
causes your mind to be more clear, more alert, and causes you to feel more
refreshed. Your nerves continue to be more relaxed and steady. You are
more composed, more tranquil and more at peace within.
You automatically apply these principles of relaxation in all the
activities of your daily life, and you can be peaceful and calm in every
situation and circumstance in which you find yourself, whether you are alone
or with others.
This enables you to be more efficient and effective in your work and
other activities, and it keeps increasing your self-confidence, your self-
reliance, your self-acceptance and your self-esteem.
You continue developing a more relaxed attitude, greater
concentration, and you keep achieving more outstanding accomplishments in
your life.
It's a cycle of progress that keeps growing stronger each day and
causes you to continue advancing and enables you to become the successful
person you are capable of being.
Being more calm and relaxed enables you to think more clearly. You
are able to focus your attention more readily, and it keeps becoming easier
for you to concentrate, and it causes your memory to keep improving more
each day.
You sleep much better when you desire to sleep. When you are ready
to go to sleep, all of your muscles and nerves relax, and you easily go into a
deep, peaceful state of sleep. While you are sleeping you are relaxed, calm
and comfortable. When you awaken you feel rested and refreshed. Your
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mind is alert, and you are able to see and understand things in their true
perspective, without magnifying them, or without letting them get out of
proportion. You are healthier, stronger and have more energy from relaxing
so peacefully as you sleep.
Every day you are becoming emotionally calmer. You are more stable,
more settled, and more able to do everything in a relaxed way. The
improvement is progressive and becomes increasingly greater each day.
This causes your life to be more enjoyable. Your feelings of happiness
increase, and your day-to-day living is more pleasurable.
You are rapidly becoming the person you have always wanted to be:
self-confident, self-sufficient, healthy, acceptable, capable and strong.
You have outstanding capability. You have really outstanding
potential. You have the mental and physical ability to be an outstanding
success, so you keep developing more confidence in yourself each day.
You have the ability to do everything you want to do, as well as
everything you need to do. You have many talents, many skills, and many
abilities, therefore, you have many reasons to have complete confidence in
yourself.
You have the ability to set up goals you want to achieve, and you have
the ability to perform the actions required to achieve your goals.
You have the ability to be an outstanding success, so you continue
developing greater confidence in yourself. You advance, progress and
prosper in everything you do.
You are relaxed and calm whether you are working or doing
something for recreation and fun. That causes your body processes to
function harmoniously, and enables you to do everything in an efficient and
effective way.
Each day you keep improving physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. You have a greater sense of personal well-being, a greater sense
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of personal safety, and you keep feeling more secure.

You enjoy life more each day. Your happiness keeps increasing, and
you become more enthusiastic and more optimistic each day.
As you continue improving, you are more able to depend upon
yourself. You have increased confidence in your own judgment, your own
opinions, and your own points of view.
Your self-confidence, self-reliance, self-acceptance and self-esteem
keep growing stronger, and you continue to be more successful in everything
you do.
Everything I have told you is already happening to you, because
everything I have told you is true.
You want to be successful, therefore, your desire and determination to
be successful are being fulfilled.
Your subconscious mind has accepted everything I have told you, and
you are progressively advancing in all areas of your life, and your life keeps
becoming more productive, more useful, healthier and happier.
(2) Glove Anesthesia: Focus your mind on your right hand or it could
be the left hand, and begin to imaging that hand becoming numb. You may
remember a time when you had a shot which caused an area of your body
to become numb, perhaps you remember how your hand felt when it fell
asleep, or maybe you can imagine your hand in a bucket of ice cold water.
As the numbness in your hand becomes stronger, imagine a tingling
sensation throughout your hand and the hand feels numb. Completely
numb. Just allow all feelings to drain out of your hand. It begins to feel
heavy and so very, very numb. Let your hand feel numb as you go deeper
and deeper, so very, very numb. Your hand is completely numb. Do you
feel your hand to becoming numb? If yes, proceed to continue with
suggestion.
Test for numbness by pinching the hand. If the client responds that
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they feel nothing or only the touch, glove anesthesia has been obtained. Now
have the client place that hand on the area of discomfort or on the area
that is to anesthetized. With the numb hand on the area of discomfort, you
discover the numbness is leaving your hand and flowing into the area where
the hand is resting. Feel your (area of the body where hand is resting)
become numb, very numb, so numb, so very numb, so very, very numb.
When all the numbness in your hand is gone into the area, you can
place your hand to your side in a normal position. The numbness wears off
when you no longer need it. If it should wear off before you want it to, just
repeat this procedure using self-hypnosis.
(3) Setting Sun Metaphor for Pain and Stress Reduction: Image
yourself sitting on a tropical beach at sunset. Notice the bright red sun as it
descends on the far horizon. See the colors begin to change from orange to
crimson, and then to a deep, dark red-orange. Notice that as the sun
approaches the water, there actually seems to be two suns, one in the sky
and one in the water. See the sun gradually sink into the ocean. See the
colors change from red to purple and then to blue. Notice the magical
stillness that pervades everything just at sunset when the ocean is as smooth
as glass and sounds seem to travel forever. Enjoy the delicious feeling of
tranquility. Realize that tranquility is available to you whenever you need it,
on a moment's notice, merely by giving yourself your own personal signal to
relax! Perhaps you might enjoy letting your finger and thumb come
together to be your sign and that can be your signal to experience
immediate relaxation whenever you choose to employ it.
(4) Dave Elman’s Magic Spot for Injections: (The “Magic Spot” is
especially good for children but good for all ages with adaptation): Say to
the child, “Would you like to have a MAGIC SPOT on your arm so that you
can take an injection without feeling anything but pressure? You are going
to be proud and thankful because the MAGIC SPOT is amazing.
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I want you to open your eyes wide, please. I’m going to pull your eyes
shut. All you have to do is to pretend that you can’t open your eyes and
keep on pretending you can’t open your eyes - so much so that when you
try to open your eyes they just won’t open... All you have to do is to pretend
that you can't open your eyes and keep on pretending you can't open your
eyes-so much so that when you try to open your eyes they just won't
open ... Now let me see you try to open them while you're pretending ...
That's right ...
Now stay like that and keep on pretending you can't open your eyes,
and the most amazing thing is going to happen. You're going to have a
Magic Spot put on your arm. Once this Magic Spot is put on you, never
again will you have to feel an injection. You'll know that the doctor is
working there, but nothing will disturb, nothing will bother you. You'll
never have any discomfort from an injection, either before, during or
afterwards ... Now, watch, I take this area and I paint a Magic Spot with
alcohol, like that. Now, whenever an injection is given in that area–you'll be
able to point it out to the doctor--nothing will be felt at all except that
you'll know that the doctor or nurse is working there You'll feel the cold
application of the antiseptic .... Now, isn't that beautiful? ... You are able to
know where the MAGIC SPOT is whenever you need an injection and you
can show the nurse exactly were to put the injection. Once you have shown
the person where the MAGIC SPOT is you can just think about something
else and feel the cold application of the antiseptic covering your MAGIC
SPOT so that you feel only pressure.
(5) Overcome Sugar Diabetes: One of the most important steps a person can take
toward self-improvement, whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, is to
learn how to relax...
We live in a world with other people, and we are constantly involved in activities with
other people who are tense, anxious, and going through stress of some kind.. .That type of
environment is responsible for most of the problems in our lives...
By learning how to relax, as you are doing now, you achieve emotional stability... It
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causes your nerves to be more relaxed and steady, and enables the processes of your body to
function more perfectly and improve the health of every part of your body.
You can continue drifting into a more peaceful state of relaxation as I give you
suggestions and instructions that cause your subconscious mind to send directions that stabilizes
your carbohydrate metabolism, and cause your pancreas to produce insulin in a perfect way and
supply the exact amount of sugar needed in your blood at all times...
Your subconscious mind is receiving the suggestions I'm telling you and is causing them
to become a normal part of the activity of your body...
Your subconscious mind understands that the chemical activities of your body are
controlled by small substances called hormones in the blood...
Your pancreas produces insulin, and insulin is the chemical controller of the sugar in
your blood...
Normally when there is too much sugar circulating in your blood, the surplus is stored in
your liver and is ready to be used when it is needed...
That process occurs when the carbohydrate substance is released to give muscular
energy... The body processes cause it to re-form into blood sugar, from which it was derived...
Since all of that is true, your mind is now aware of what your body processes need to do
to function properly...so now your pancreas can function properly and produce the exact amount
of insulin needed to keep your body in good health, and keep your blood sugar at a proper
level...
Your body is a complex organization of glands, blood vessels, nerves, organs, brain cells,
muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones
You also have a mind that knows how to stimulate your body responses and coordinate
every part of your body so it functions harmoniously... So your inner mind is directing every cell
in your body to function properly and keep you body healthy and perfectly stabilized...
The Bible says, "You can be transformed by the renewing of your mind." That's what
you are doing now, getting your mind renewed with truthful ideas and thoughts about your
pancreas and the other activities of your body, and your mind is responding by causing your
body processes to function properly and eliminate the diabetes problem...
Your carbohydrate metabolism is oxidizing and utilizing carbohydrates perfectly... That
keeps your protein and fat metabolism functioning perfectly...
The cells in your pancreas are functioning the way they need to function to produce
normal insulin metabolism...
You utilize the carbohydrates in your blood perfectly and keep your body properly
nourished... and you use the glucose in your body properly and provide strength, energy and
vitality to every part of your body in a perfect way...
All blood vessels, tissues and organs in your body are becoming stronger and healthier
each day...Your heart and kidneys are adjusting perfectly and are performing their functions
perfectly...
You are more at ease as you continue using these principles of relaxation which you are now
experiencing during your daily life...
Each day you become emotionally calmer... Your nerves are more relaxed, more steady
and more calm...
Any time you notice any insulin reaction, you contact your doctor and let him tell you
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the proper adjustments to make and to produce the proper amount of insulin to help you stay
healthy...
You realize now that your mind is powerful, and is making proper adjustments in your
system so your health continues improving continuously...
These suggestions and instructions that I have told you keep becoming more effective
each day and influence your feelings and your actions in a positive, helpful way... Every organ
and cell of your body is continuing to function properly and your health continues improving
rapidly... Youthful vitality and energy are rejuvenating your entire system... And you are happy
with the continuous improvement in all areas of your life...
(6) Improve health: You continue to experience a more calm, pleasant
feeling of relaxation moving through your entire body... Your subconscious
mind is receiving my suggestions and instructions, and other sounds and
noises are gradually fading away, so it is easy for your mind to listen to the
words I'm saying to you... Being in a state of relaxation automatically causes
your body processes to keep functioning more properly... And that enables
the healing energies of your body to function properly and has the power to
remedy many ailments... So you find that your health keeps improving more
each day...
I want you to use your imagination now, and think of that area of
your body the way you want it to be when it is healed perfectly... As you
concentrate on that part of your body, you gradually feel a healing warmth
flowing through the tissues of your skin... The healing processes of your body
are working right now, and continue functioning properly and heal your
body completely and perfectly... Your muscles, nerves, ligaments, and
tendons are relaxing more and more... You are continuing to feel more
comfortable and more at ease...
Your body is responding to the normal, natural healing energies that
are working to restore, and rejuvenate, and strengthen your body in a
perfect way... The cells of your body are alive and know how to perform
their tasks of sending healing chemicals to every part of your body where it
is needed...
The cells of your body know how to cooperate with each other and
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conduct their activities properly and restore your body to normal, healthy
functioning... So your subconscious mind is directing the mind in each cell to
cooperate in harmony and unison with all other cells to heal your body
completely... St. Paul said "You can be transformed by the renewing of your
mind". Your mind has now been renewed with good thoughts and ideas
that are causing you to keep becoming healthier and stronger each day...
Each day your nerves are more relaxed and steady... You continue
developing more strength, more energy and more vitality...
You keep becoming more stable, more settled, and improve in all areas
of your life. Your health keeps improving everyday. You are stronger and
ready to be more active by following your doctor’s orders. Your appetite is
increasing every day. Every day in every way you are getting better and
better, healthier and healthier.
(7) Enhancing the Immune System: As you continue to relax, I am
going to remind you of something you've always known, but you may not
always have been consciously aware of this knowledge. However, your
subconscious is always aware of the strength and intensity of your ability to
heal yourself. God created within each of us an immune system. A system
that protects us from disease.
The cells within our body patrol our bodies to protect us. Whenever
these cells encounter a foreign agent or disease in our body, they attack and
destroy the enemy. Sometimes these foreign agents or diseases attack our
bodies with such intensity that we have a great deal of discomfort or pain.
Perhaps you took a medication, went to bed and slowly recovered. Today,
you want to activate your own immune system so that it works more
effectively to protect and heal you.
Remember how it was before. Remember how it was when you cut
your finger. You cleansed the cut, applied a band-aid and allowed your body
to heal itself. Slowly it did by forming a scab over the cut and when it was
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totally healed the scab fell away and your finger healed. Even if you broke a
bone in your arm or leg, it was really your own body that did the healing,
not the cast that surrounded it. It's important to understand that your body
is capable of healing itself. Yes, the immune system needs help occasionally
from medications, surgery or therapy, but it is your body that does the
healing.
So relax even more deeply now and as you do begin to focus on
allowing the immune system to become more powerful. With each breath
you take now empower your immune system to protect you. Send a
message down through your central nervous system to release these
powerful immune chemicals to any place in your body that is in need. The
immune chemicals are helpers, protectors and healers. They are your friends.
Take a deep breath and feel your immune system becoming more powerful.
Encourage your immune system to battle any discomfort or disease within
you. If you know the exact location within your body, direct these helpers
and healers there. Feel them destroying anything that is harmful to you.
Direct them to destroy that disease. Imagine these cells doing just that.
Imagine them killing the agents that can cause you harm. Direct them to
crush every harmful cell in your body so that none of them are left. Now
make sure they clean up their mess by eliminating the destroyed cells from
your body through the body’s natural elimination system. Take all the time
you need. Breathe them out or let them pass out through your urine or stool
or sweat. Pause.
Now take another deep breath and direct your immune system by
your thinking to manufacture more helpers and protectors for you. Make
them stronger and even stronger. Again, take your time. Produce as many
of the helper and protector cells that you need. Pause.
Now imagine you're giving instructions to your helpers and protectors
to again patrol your entire body to find any other disease. Take a moment
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to accept yourself. Love yourself more deeply than you ever have before. Be
very proud of the healing work that's being done within you. You are very
special and very precious. Know that you have only one mind and one body
on this plane of existence. Treat it wonderfully so that you may protect it
from any harm or disease.
(8) Sinus Conditions: Why do some people have sinus problems and
others do not. Perhaps some have a natural immunity while other’s
immunity system has been weakened so that they have sinus problems. In
recent years, many studies have revealed that thoughts or ideas in a person's
mind can contribute to sinus conditions. By saying that thoughts or ideas in
the mind contributes to sinus problems does not mean a person wants to
have those problems. It is a misunderstandings in the subconscious level of
the mind that causes those conditions to develop. Tension, stress, emotional
factors, anxiety and even grief have been found to influence asthma, eczema,
hay fever, hives, other types of allergic reaction and sinus problems.
In most cases involving sinus conditions, it has been found that the
situation or circumstance which caused the condition to develop has
changed, but the person continues to have the sinus condition because it has
become a learned response in the mind... In other words, the subconscious
level of the mind causes the sinus condition to continue merely because it has
become a habit... Your subconscious mind is causing all of your body
processes to function properly to cleanse all impurities out of your body in
order to eliminate the sinus condition you have been experiencing...
Whatever has been the causing the sinus conditions, the symptoms are
fading away more and more and you are getting better and better. You are
sleeping better at night and each morning you awaken feeling rested,
relaxed and refreshed. Your sinuses and nasal passages remain comfortably
moist, relaxed and clear. All the cells of your body are continuously
functioning more properly, cleansing all impurities out of your body. You
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continue feeling more clean and more refreshed as your elimination system
keeps your body cleansed of all waste materials and impurities.
Your subconscious mind is working out a very pleasant solution to the
problem completely and perfectly and is releasing you from the control of
any unpleasant experiences from the past that has contributed to the sinus
problem...Every part of your body; all organs, glands, muscles, nerves and
intestines, as well as your circulatory, metabolic, elimination and respiratory
systems are functioning perfectly. Peace, poise and confidence are growing
stronger within you...You are becoming stronger, healthier and more secure
each day...And you continue to be pleased with your improvement.
The sinus conditions keeps fading away more and more, and soon are
gone completely. Your sinuses and nasal passages remain comfortably moist,
relaxed and clear so that you can breathe easily and comfortably. You sleep
better at night...and each morning you awaken feeling rested, relaxed and
refreshed, and your sinuses and nasal passages remain comfortably moist,
relaxed and clear.
All of the canals, passageways, nerves, muscles and fibers connecting
the different parts of your sinuses and upper respiratory system function
efficiently and properly. You're going to notice a change in your life because
your mind is releasing those thoughts, ideas, imprints and impressions that
caused the sinus condition to develop. Beginning right now, your
subconscious mind is understanding that you want to get rid of all unnatural
sinus conditions.
Your subconscious mind is causing you to become desensitized to all
substances and conditions which, in the past, have caused your sinuses to
react in any which was uncomfortable for you. Your subconscious mind is
releasing any emotional based causes for those unnatural sinus problems.
Your subconscious mind is getting rid of the habit of responding to situations
and conditions that have been causing you to experience those conditions.
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You are continuing to relax even more now and your subconscious mind is
accepting these suggestions and is improving your health and enabling you to
live your life in a more peaceful, more calm, more relaxed way. Each day
these suggestions become more effective...You are learning to use these
principles of relaxation which you are now experiencing in your daily life and
that keeps you calm and relaxed at all times.
(9) Healing From Within: (Adapted from a script by Dr. Louis Bauer
for those who would respond to religious suggestions.): As you continue
relaxing now, you can feel that relaxation spreading throughout your entire
body. You can feel that total relaxation from the top of your head to the
bottom of your feet. Image that you are surrounded by a soft gentle
soothing protective warmth... The protective warmth is gently surrounding
you...protecting you...comforting you...and with that gentle loving warmth,
comes peace...
Recorded in the Bible, Psalms 46:11 states, "Be still and know that I
am God."...and that is what you are doing here today...You are learning to
be still... Allowing your body and your conscious mind to relax through
hypnosis enables you to tap into the powerful resources of your sub-
conscious mind. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within you."...You have
within you the answer to many questions...the solution to many
problems...and the healing energies within you working to heal many kinds
of illnesses or diseases... As you continue relaxing now, your mind is at peace
and is open to the awareness of the inflow and outflow of the love of God...
You are in the process of making some very important changes that
brings you greater health, happiness, joy and inner peace... You really enjoy
responding to everything I tell you and are pleased with the continuous
improvements in all areas of your life... You are learning to meet every
challenge in your life with confidence, sureness, and power... You keep your
thoughts positive...and you find that attracts happy, positive conditions to
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you.. Miracles come quietly into the mind that can be still. Healing -
mental, physical, emotional and spiritual - comes from within...
Just be still... Your mind can sort out all of those feelings, imprints,
impressions, thoughts and ideas...including those you may not be consciously
aware of... They can be examined in your own mind and in your own
way...because your own mind has a very pleasant way of solving problems...
It is a nice thing to learn, because it enables you to do the right thing - at
the right time - and in the right way...and that is what's important right
now... So continue relaxing peacefully and calmly.. You are a very wonderful
person... You are very special...very unique...one of a kind...
God made you - body, mind and spirit - and He made you with love...
You know now that you are a special person... God made you in His Image
and God said, "(name), I give you a magnificent world to live in...use it,
enjoy it, discover, learn and become the person I made you to be"... God
loves you...and God wants you to love yourself... First, you need to love
yourself...and you are learning how to do this... And you are realizing that
you can love yourself, because God loves you. You are being strengthened and
rejuvenated by a Divine Healing Power of Love.
(10) Stroke or Head Injury Improvement: You know that you have
been able to perform many functions throughout your life just by consciously
making the decision to carry out certain actions... When you make a decision
to put food into your mouth and eat, you chew it automatically... And in the
past you have been able to walk, talk, move your hands and fingers at any
time you wanted to... All of these things became so easy for you that you
could do it easily, just by making the decision to do so. In fact, these
activities became so easy that you could do them without even being
consciously aware that you decided to do it. Then, a short time ago, you all
of a sudden discovered that you were unable to do things you did
automatically for many years... Since stroke (or injury), you've been
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experiencing some difficulty doing things that you do with ease.

We know that your inner mind knows how to restore your skin if it is
cut. Your inner mind also knows how to cause a bone to grow back together
if it is broken... It is normal and natural for your inner mind to cause the
healing processes of your body to function properly and heal any part of
your body that is damaged, including your brain... Your mind is
understanding that and is working out the solution to that problem... All
parts of your mind are cooperating and are healing your mind and body
rapidly and perfectly, in a way that is pleasing to you...
Your mind also has great powers of creativity... And is creating ways
of restoring all of your body functions in an easy, natural way... Your mind
can find a way for the signal to move your arm, hand, leg by passing the
damaged area to other areas of your brain which can direct the movement
as desired.
Remember how your muscles felt when you moved arms, hands, legs
before the stroke/injury. If one side of your body is working, move the arm,
hand, leg and in your imagination transfer that feeling mentally to the
other side. Do this several times each day and your mind begins to find a
way for the message to get through and movement can began.
Progressively your hand, arm, leg improves, strengthens and functions as
appropriate. The wise old man of Proverbs wrote "whatsoever a person
thinking is his heart so is he". The images we hold in our mind tend to
become a reality.
Your subconscious mind is working with your body to work in
harmony to rejuvenate and restore your body... All of the cells and atoms
and molecules of your body are functioning harmoniously to regenerate your
body... All of the chemical activities of your body are cooperating to return
your body to health...
In your own way you are creating an image in your mind of your
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body restored to proper health, and you are feeling the rejuvenation taking
place... You may remember when you were a small child just learning to
walk... You had to get upon your feet and make a concentrated effect to put
one foot ahead of the other and take steps to get from one place to
another... As you continued practicing your walking, it soon became so
automatic to you that you did it without even thinking about it consciously...
Your inner mind is remembering that now... Your body and your brain has
the knowledge needed to restore your ability to walk and use all of the
muscles, ligaments and tendons in your body easily...
Your mind is remembering what you know... Looking at it now from a
new point of view... Remembering that when you were a baby, you had to
learn how to walk because you had never done it before... Now your mind is
helping you to learn to do it again...
Yes. You learned how to walk, to move your arms and to use your
hands and to talk when you were very young... Therefore you can now
relearn what you have already learned... Your subconscious mind is searching
out the information from the previous learning and putting it into use
again... To enable your mind to do that searching properly, go into a much
deeper state of hypnosis now... as deep as you need to go to achieve what
you need to achieve...(pause)
As your subconscious mind is reviewing that previous learning, your
muscles are regaining strength... What you are doing requires the
cooperation of your mind and body... Reinforce that cooperation each night,
just before you go to sleep, by imagining in your mind that you are walking
easily and properly... using your arms and hands easily and properly...
talking easily and properly. You are on your way to being healed completely
and perfectly.
(11) Health, Success, Motivation: (In this script, I am using the one
that I use for “Stop Smoking, but it can be adapted for weight control.) You
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are now very deeply relaxed and your mind has become very receptive to
the suggestions that I am giving you. I am going to ask you to think about
certain words or phrases and their meaning for you. I want you to think of
these words, to turn them over in your mind, to examine them and plant
them into soil of your subconscious mind. I can remember growing up in
rural part of North Louisiana where agriculture was the economic
foundation for the area. I learned that if a farmer planted corn seed, that
is what would grow. Now the farmer would have to keep the field clean of
weeds and grass so that the corn received the full benefit of the soil. You
have to keep the weeds and grass of negative thinking, doubt and fear for
the soil of your subconscious mind so that these seed can grow and work for
you.
The first words I want you to think about are the words "good health".
What can the words, "good health" mean? They can mean a sense of superb
physical well-being with healthy heart and lungs; perfect functioning of all
organs, nerves, glands and systems of the entire body; firm, strong muscles,
bones and joints; smooth, healthy skin; increased resistance to all forms of
infection or disease.
Good health can mean the body feels full of power and strength, with
greater balance and stamina, more slender with firm muscle tone in greater
awareness of the body, greater control of all parts of the body and sense of
harmony in the functioning of the body. Good health may mean less fatigue
and illness, and proper body weight.
Good health means that you have overcome the smoking habit and
freed your body of the negative effects of smoking.
Good health means not only physical health, but also a healthy
attitude of mind by which your nerves are calm and relaxed. The mind is
calm, clear and composed. More tranquil, more relaxed, more confident,
more secure, and more sure of yourself. As a non-smoker, you feel better
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about yourself, happier and more satisfied with your life.

Good health may mean that you have the ability to sleep deeply and
refreshingly when you want to sleep, and then you awake feeling calm,
relaxed, confident, cheerful, ready for the activity of the day with energy
and enthusiasm. The words "good health" can mean all these things and
more. These words have tremendous power. I want you to plant them into
the soil of your subconscious mind and let them work for your good health.
The next word I would like you to think about is "success". Success
may mean a sense of recognition, a fulfillment of your desires to be a non-
smoker, a sense of accomplishment in overcoming the smoking habit. It may
mean a sense of worthiness and attainment of your goal to be a non-
smoker.
Success may mean wealth in terms of money and the things money
can buy, or security for yourself and your family. It can also mean an
attitude of mind which gives inner happiness and satisfaction regardless of
material possessions or circumstances. I want you to use the word "success"
to produce in you all the feelings that go with success.
Finally, I want you to think of the word "motivation". It can mean a
gradual but progressive change in one's life; to release old recordings of
negative habit patterns; to cease to fear being a puppet to one's early
conditioning and to become a creator of a new, healthy, happy successful
script for your life. It could mean the gradual but progressive building of
stronger and stronger feelings of self-confidence and the ability to meet the
challenges of life.
Motivation can mean desire, determination, and a driving force to
achieve your desired end of being a non-smoker. It can mean the desire to
take responsibility for your own performance onto yourself, to take charge
of your life and success rather than letting life's forces mold and shape your
performance.
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We have all been conditioned since birth to associate words with

feelings. Words are therefore tools which you are going to use to produce
the feeling and results which you want. These words are "good health",
"success" and "motivation".
These words are used to improve health and enable you to be more
efficient and effective. This enables you to keep increasing your self-
confidence, your self-worth, your self-esteem, you self-reliance, your self-
acceptance. Each day you keep improving physically, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually. You have a greater sense of your happiness that keeps
increasing and you become more enthusiastic and more optimistic each day.
(12) Calm and Relaxed": As you lie there deeply relaxed, you can let
the words "calm and relaxed" repeat themselves in your mind, slowly, softly,
soothingly, over and over...”calm and relaxed”...each repetition of the words
“calm and relaxed” help you to feel more...”calm and relaxed”... Now let the
words "calm and relaxed" flow down, out of your mind and throughout your
entire body, "calm and relaxed" as if they are flowing through your
bloodstream, to all parts of your body...strengthening, healing, nourishing,
calming, relaxing, soothing...feeling stronger and more confident with every
passing moment, with every breath that you take, as the words "calm and
relaxed" flow throughout your body, feeding, strengthening, and calming
your body and your mind...and realizing within yourself that you are now
using your own resources to strengthen and calm yourself, enabling you to
remain strong and calm even when under stress. All that I'm doing is
helping you to learn how to focus your concentration for your own
benefit...and now that you are aware of your ability to strengthen and
nourish yourself, this process can continue even when you are not aware of
it,...just as an underground river continues to flow, strong and sure, even
when you are standing on the ground above it and are totally unaware of
it;...just as a flower continues to grow even though you can't see the growth
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from moment to moment... The growth and strengthening within you

continues to develop...increasing your self-confidence, self-appreciation and
self-acceptance, experiencing the freedom to make health changes in your
life style and the opportunity for the future to be different from the past or
present as you progressively improve in all areas of your life.
(13) The Invisible Barrier: (Removing self-imposed obstacles to
achievement): I wonder if you are familiar with fences...especially the
electric fences used with horses...These fences have a few tiny strands of
wire...and through that wire goes a current of electricity...The kind of
electricity that is safe...just the kind that gives you a jolt...like static
electricity you get from walking on rugs...a sudden, sharp spark...These wires
stretch all around the field...and as the horses walk from place to place...they
quickly learn where they can go...and where they don't want to venture...All
it takes is a few brushes against the wire...a few sudden, startling zaps...and
being very smart animals...they learn to look but not to touch...They learn so
well, in fact...that after a while...the farmer can turn off the electricity...or
even replace the wires with string...and those horses will stay put...fenced in
by nothing at all...stopped in their tracks by a thought...by the feeling that
some places are off limits...that where they are is safe...as long as they just
stay put...satisfied to be where they are.
An invisible barrier or boundary...created by the mind... can prevent
you from moving beyond your situation. And we know that you are a lot
smarter than a horse, do we not, so it is time to move beyond your barriers
to a new way of life that is satisfying and meaningful for you.
(14) Forgiveness: Forgiveness is important to your mental, emotional,
physical and spiritual health. I can not do this for you, but you can do it.
Though I can not do it for you, I can help you allow the forgiveness to be
experienced. To help you do this, I would like to guide you through some
releasing and forgiving experiences. Is this OK with you? ( If OK continue. If
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not OK, discuss why. If still not OK, go on to something else.)

There is an old Emmet Fox exercise for dissolving resentment that can
be very helpful. It may be difficult, but let it happen. As you sit quietly
with your eyes closed and allow your mind and body to relax even more.
Imagine that you are setting in a darkened theater and in front of you is a
stage, on that stage place the person you resent the most. It could be past
or present, the person may be living or dead. When you see that person
clearly, visualize/imagine good things happening to that person. Things that
would be meaningful to him/her. See him/her smiling and happy. Hold this
image for a few minutes, then let it fade away. As he/she leave the stage,
put yourself up there. See good things happening to you. See yourself
smiling and happy. Be aware that the abundance of the Universe is
available for you. Forgiveness is important but for some of us, there is a step
that is necessary before we can totally forgive. Sometimes the little kid in us
needs to have revenge before it is free to forgive. If that is the case, this
exercise can be very helpful.
With your eyes closed sit quietly and peacefully. Think of the person
who is hardest to forgive. What would you really like to do to him/her?
Imagine that happening now. Get into the details. How long do you want
them to suffer or do penance? What do they need to do to get your
forgiveness? Imagine him/her doing whatever is necessary so you can
forgive him/her. When you feel can forgive him/her do so and let it be over
forever. So let it happen...
If you are ready to forgive. Say, "The person I need to forgive is
__________ and I forgive you for ____________." Forgive the person even if the
person does not requests forgiveness or deserves forgiveness. Do this over
and over. Forgive the person for all the hurt he/she has caused you.
Imagine the person saying "Thank you, I set you free now." You forgive the
other person for yourself so do it now. Now say to yourself, "I forgive myself
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for ___________." Take your time and forgive yourself.

Begin to visualize yourself as a little child. Look deeply into this little
child's eyes. See the longing that is there and realize that there is only one
thing this little child wants form you and that is love. So reach out your
arms and embrace this child. Hold the child with love and tenderness. Tell
the child how much you love it; how much you care. Now let this little child
get very small, until it is just the size to fit into your heart. Put it there so
whenever you look down you can see this little face looking up at you and
you can give it lots of love.
Now visualize your mother as a little girl, frightened and looking for
love and not knowing where to find it. Reach out your arms and hold this
little girl and let her know how much you love her; how much you care.
When she quiets down and begins to feel safe, let her get very small, just the
size to fit into your heart. Put her there with your own little child. Let
them give each other lots of love.
Now imagine your father as a little boy, frightened, crying and looking
for love. See the tears rolling down his little face as he doesn't know where
to turn. You have become good at comforting frightened little children, so
reach out your arms and hold his trembling little body. Comfort him. When
his tears are dry and you feel the love and peace in his little body, let him
get very small, just the size to fit into your heart. Put him there so those
three little children can give each other lots of love and you can love them
all.
Now you are free to live a more comfortable and happy life. No
matter what they have done to you, let your love wash it away so it no
longer has power over you. This is true of anyone you have forgiven. As you
forgive them, you free yourself of their power over you. You are free to live
and enjoy life.
(15) Improving in Baseball: You have chosen baseball as a sport in
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which you want to continue improving your talents, skills and abilities... You
love the game of baseball and have great enthusiasm for it... It is so
important in your life that you want to be an exceptionally outstanding
player...
To be an excellent baseball player, the top players in the game say,
there are several basic qualities and attitudes you must develop to help be
outstanding in the game of baseball... Knowing those qualities and attitudes
and having them implanted in the subconscious levels of your mind causes
you to continually increase your abilities and be the really outstanding
baseball player you are capable of being... As I am telling you those
important qualities and attitudes, you can continue relaxing more
completely and comfortably... There may be times when I'm talking to you
and you may be consciously unaware of my voice, however, that's okay
because the subconscious levels of your mind will hear and receive everything
I tell you and cause you to put everything I tell you into your own actions...
One of the first qualities needed to become an outstanding baseball
player is to have an intense interest in the game. Having an intense interest
in the game gives you a reason to make a personal commitment to want to
keep improving your skills. The desire to keep improving results in training
and keeping your body in top physical condition at all times... From now on
you exercise your body regularly and practice to keep your body strong and
fine tuned so that your reflexes and coordination always function perfectly...
Your desire to be an excellent baseball player continues increasing and that
causes the subconscious levels of your mind to motivate you into doing the
proper training needed to be an outstanding baseball player...
A second quality in being an outstanding baseball player is to practice
the skills of your position correctly... Every sport requires that you have good
speed, good timing and coordination, the necessary strength and energy,
and proper reflexes to enable you to make the right moves in the right way
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to handle your position properly. So from now on you devote the proper
amount of time imaging doing all the requirements of your position, making
every move correctly so that when you participate in competition you
automatically execute your skills properly...
You watch outstanding professional baseball players who play the same
position that you play... You observe everything they do to make every play
correctly... The subconscious levels of your mind remembers everything they
do correctly and this enable you to make every play correctly when you are
required to do so in competition...
It helps you improve your talents, skills, and abilities as a baseball
player rapidly by taking some time each day to sit down or lie down in a
comfortable position and imagine performing all the actions and techniques
required for the position you play on the team. Imagine doing everything
perfectly... You do it correctly in your mind and that enables you to do it
correctly when you are participating in a game... Imagine going over each
play time and time again, always doing it perfectly... In an easy, natural
way your mind directs your body to perform the moves and actions needed
as you are playing your position in actual games... The subconscious levels of
your mind causes you to instinctively play your position correctly each time
you are participating in an actual game of baseball...
A third quality to be an excellent baseball player is to be calm and at
ease at all times, regardless of the condition of the field you play
on...Normally baseball is an outdoor sport and each field is different. The
weather conditions are different each time you play a game... You are now
increasing your ability and poise to adapt to any situation you are required
to play in with calmness and ease.. You are calm and relaxed at all times
with the proper amount of adaption to excel. You play your position
properly even if the crowd is quiet or noisy, even if the sun is bright or it is
cloudy... Your concentration is perfect at all times and under any condition
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when you are participating in a baseball game... You are the expert.. You are
the master of your position.. If you are a position player, you also are a good
hitter. Everything that you do to keep improving your skills at your
position, you also do with regards to your batting ability. When you are at
bat, you are calm, relaxed and confident... Your vision is perfect... When the
ball is pitched you see it clearly... It appears larger than normal, you keep
your eye on the ball, allowing you plenty of time to see it clearly and hit it
firmly whenever the pitch is in the strike zone...
(If the player is a pitcher, have him feeling confident in pitching the
baseball exactly where he wants it to go, being in control, fielding his
position properly.
The fourth quality and attitude you are developing is a desire to
always play to the best of your ability and have a strong desire to win...
However, if you lose, you remain calm and recognize the skills of your
competition... You keep practicing and improving your own skills to a
greater and greater extent... (batter)When you are batting, you always do
what is best for the team in the situation you are in... If you need to bunt
the ball, you have practiced bunting so you can do it perfectly... If you need
to get a base hit, you have practiced that so that you are able to do that
often... You are capable of hitting the ball with strength, with accuracy, and
with power... [Practice in your mind, time and time again, hitting the ball
and image how your body feels as you swing properly and hit the ball.]
(pitcher) You throw the baseball with properly and with confidence.
[Practice pitching the ball right where you want it go and doing just what
you want it to do.]
You welcome competition... You always do your best and you always
give recognition to the capabilities of your competition... The tougher the
competition, the more your abilities keep improving...
On the days when you are participating in actual competition against
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another team, you always have the ability to perform in an exceptionally,

outstanding way... You are at your very best ability mentally, physically and
emotionally... You know that by continuing to practice on the field and in
your mind, you continue to improve, so if at any time you make a mistake,
you accept it, learn from it and continue practicing so that you are able to
continue performing more perfectly...
One final point you are sure to remember is to get the proper amount
of sleep and rest... When you go to bed for the purpose of sleeping, you easily
drift into a calm, peaceful, state of sleep... You sleep comfortably until it is
time for you to awaken.... When it is time for you to awaken, you awake,
feeling rested and refreshed... You continue having more strength and
energy from relaxing so peacefully as you sleep...Each day your self-
confidence, self-acceptance, and self-reliance will keep increasing and your
skills as a baseball player keep improving.
(16) Improvement in Golf: It is your desire to realize fully all of the
equalities and attitudes necessary to help you excel in playing the game of
golf. You have chosen this sport as the one in which you desire to become
the best you can be. You love the game of golf and have great enthusiasm
for it. You are making it a part of your life. It is an important avenue for
personal recreation and competition. To be an excellent golfer, men and
women in the sport of golf say that there are five basic qualities and
attitudes which must be highly developed to help you be the best you can be.
Knowing these qualities and implanting them as suggestions into your
subconscious mind in this manner makes them increasingly real and
profitable to you in your quest for excellence. Before I begin to suggest these
five qualities, take a deep breath, hold it in a moment, let it out slowly and
relax more deeply and profoundly. Very good.
The first quality to improve your golf is to build an intense desire for
the game. To build your desire gives you a personal commitment to the
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game from the inner mind level. Let it be a strong desire that manifest
itself in training wisely and progressively to condition your body for this
purpose. You know that to be the best you can be, you must practice and
exercise appropriate skills. From now on, you schedule your practices with
greater satisfaction. Each practice makes you feel stronger and more
skillful, encouraging you closer to your goal. If you accept this idea, then
nod your head. Very good. From now on, you are increasing in your desire
to improve your ability to play golf. You have more subconscious motivation
for the right attitude and the proper training to reach your goal. Your
desire to be the best you can be grows stronger and stronger. Now, relax
and go deeper and deeper and deeper.
The second quality for excellence in golf is to correct any and all errors
in techniques. Every sport demands the best in timing, strength,
coordination, dexterity and other technicalities. You have an increasing
respect for the proper techniques and for the accepted standard for playing
golf. You strive and find it easy to succeed in correcting all the techniques
necessary to excel in golf.
You take seriously the major and minor insights of instructs and
advice given by your golf pro or instructor or from your own observation.
You have the disposition to welcome the pointing out of your faults which
need correcting and you have a conscientious desire to do everything in the
right way.
For one thing, you employ your powerful imagination to picture
yourself performing all the techniques of action in the manner you are
taught. Learning to picture yourself doing the techniques right. You are
going to do it right in your practice sessions and you do it right in times of
competition. Just now, picture yourself, from time to time, doing
techniques right. Very good. The great golfer Arnold Palmer said that
imagination plays a great role in the game of the successful golfer. Said he,
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most great players have developed the ability to visualize the flight pattern
of the intended shot. In visualizing, they subsequently produce a shot of
similar projectors. It is not complicated at all. Simply imagine for a few
moments the type of shot you want to hit, whether high, low, draw, fade or
whatever. As you address the ball, try to create in your hands and legs the
feeling you meet at impact. Continue to imagine this desired feeling as you
swing. Surprisingly, your mind directs your body to perform the moves that
are needed for each stroke in the game. Says Palmer, "Then you can return
to the impact position and mentally request that same feeling the maneuver
each time."
You use your imagination by visualizing what you want and when you
want it to aid you on the fairway when you need control and distance and
also when you approach the green for putting. From now on, you practice
using your imagination to see yourself doing on the golf course what you
inwardly plan with your mind. You are increasingly capable of handling all
the important techniques and soon having them properly at your command.
The subconscious "feel" you obtain is to your advantage always. If you accept
this idea, nod your head. Very good. Now take another deep breath, hold it
a moment, let it out slowly and go deeper and deeper and deeper relaxed.
Thank you.
The third quality for excellence in golf is to be the master of your
environment. Golf being an outdoor sport finds you facing various
conditions which are not always ideal. You have expected conditions and
unexpected conditions. You now increase your ability and poise to adapt to
any situation with ease. You easily adapt to weather changes - of wind and
rain, or a bright sun. An aircraft may suddenly fly overhead or a truck
may roar past on a nearby highway blasting its horn.
At times, when approaching the green, there may be the distraction
of someone suddenly cough, sneeze or heckle. Sometimes you have
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unexpected competition or faulty equipment; scores of things can happen in

the environment to unnerve or alter a person’s attitude about the game.
Many things can be irritating or upsetting.
In the light of all these conditions, whatever they may be, allow this
next suggestion to go deep into your subconscious. Upsetting conditions
never happen to the golfer who is prepared to ignore them. I want you to
repeat mentally after me this suggestion: “Upsetting conditions can be
overcome by the golfer who is prepared to ignore them.” (repeat 2 more
times)
In your desire to excel in golf, you develop control and management of
yourself in all conditions, expected and unexpected, in your playing
environment. You are able to concentrate on your performance at all times.
You are deeply engrossed in the game allowing you to maintain your
concentration and involvement. Whenever an alteration is needed in your
thinking or technique, you are quick to adapt in a controlled manner. Your
golf clubs are your friends and you know them and handle them well. You
are the master of the game you play and you play with confidence,
intelligence and control. You're the master of your environment. If you
accept these ideas, then nod your head. Very good. Now take another deep
breath. Hold it a moment. Let it out slowly and go deeper and deeper
relaxed.
The fourth quality for the best in golf is a fierce, competitive attitude
at the proper time. To be a champion athlete is to be a fierce competitor at
the proper time. Always be at your best even if it is during a practice
session because a practice session is preparation for meaningful competition.
You welcome competition, you love that competitive feeling. It challenges
you.
When you seriously compete, you can and do exceed the average
performance. The tougher the competition, the better you like it and the
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better you perform. You are developing from now on, a more fierce
competitive attitude, which you can always turn on at the proper time and
which enhances your ability greatly.
You are always in control of your faculties and senses regardless of
where you are when the competition is held. On the days of competition
you are at your peak mentally, emotionally and physically. I repeat, on
days of competition, you are at your peak mentally, emotionally and
physically - and this is so. You always are a fierce competitor at the proper
time.
The fifth quality for excellence in golf is that you dismiss all mental
limits. Removing all mental limits from your mind is highly important to
your improvement in playing golf. Our total way of life seems to be filled
with mental blocks which hinder us from exceeding the limits of the past.
From now on the past is rejected from your mind relative to playing golf.
Let there always be the possibility of improvement by rejecting from your
mind all mental limitations.
You now know that if you practice properly and incorporate qualities
pertaining to desired techniques, environment, fierce competition and
overcoming mental blocks, you continue to improve day by day. Your
wonderful, capable, emotional, creative, subconscious mind can inspire you
with innovations in practice and in competition that have never been
realized before. Your subconscious can reveal hidden resources and powers
to improve your ability in competition, regardless of the status of that
competition.
Your mind is unlimited in its possibilities to work for you and serve
you. And this is so. With you from now on, all mental blocks are blown
away. Mental blocks are swept away into oblivion. Be convinced in the
deep levels of your mind that you have the ability to project your golf
performance to a high level of excellence and to your upmost satisfaction.
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As you believe in your mind, so it is. You set your own standards. Your
mental attitude is now elevated to pave the way to better performances and
achievements and pleasures in each day you play.
As you prepare to come out of this hypnotic state there are some key
words which you can use at will in the waking state to bolster your golf
game. In any time of need just stop for a moment, take a deep breath, let
it out slowly, close your eyes, think and see these key words as you project
them on the screen of your mind. The full meaning of each word triggers
you into that state of being and keeps you there all the way through the
game. Here they are: “relax, confidence, concentration, warm, cool”. It is
already obvious to you where these words fit into your routine of golf
competition. I repeat them: “ relax, confidence, concentration, warm, cool”.
Each time you are ready to putt on the green, turn on your
imagination, waiting for your golf ball to roll into it. Mentally, see the path
of the ball as you desire it to go. Seeing the desired results in your
imagination at every point in your golfing game keeps you poised, confident,
and always doing your best. You always have the proper level of mind and
the energy to sustain you for every game you play. Soon you think, act and
react properly and automatically at every point in competition. The
suggestions I have given you today in regards to the five qualities pertaining
to desire, technique, environment, competition and overcoming limitations
go deep, deep, deep into your mind and influences your habits each time
you play. You notice your improvement and you are satisfied and happy
with your progress.
(17) Tennis Script: As you relax peacefully and comfortably, your
mind has become so sensitive, so receptive to what I say, that everything
that I say sinks deeply into your subconscious mind and makes a deep and
lasting impression that you keep improving your tennis abilities. Your
subconscious mind is in charge of your automatic reactions, the movements
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of your muscles, your natural athletic ability. Consequently, these things that
I put into your mind begin to exercise a greater and greater influence over
the way you think, over the way you feel, over the way you play.
I am going to teach you a technique which you can use as an
automatic response at any time during your game. Do it now in your mind's
eye with me. In your imagination take the ball in your hand and observe it
carefully and as you stare at it, breathe in deeply through your nose. Exhale
slowly, counting down mentally as you exhale ... five, four, three, two, one.
Feel the relaxation and confidence flood through your entire body. Now,
bounce the ball, watching it closely. Notice how it feels. Squeeze it. See the
color. Notice the seams. See the printing. Hear the sound of the ball
bouncing. This breathe and bounce technique helps you recall this marvelous
feeling of confident relaxation and it gets your eyes on the ball.
Now, imagine yourself actually on the court, playing. Imagine yourself
playing with the form of an admired professional, but it is you playing like
the pro. Choose any part of your game that needs attention -- forehand,
backhand, serve, return of serve -- any shot. You just keep seeing yourself
hitting the particular shot as it should be hit. Focus your eyes on the ball. See
it coming the instant it leaves your opponent's racket. See yourself prepared
to play. You see and react to the ball so well. See the ball hit well in front of
you, eyes following the entire path of the ball. Feel the confidence growing
within. Your shots are better and better as you keep your eyes on the ball
more and more. You are on your toes, the balls of your feet, watching the
ball, ready position between shots. Your eyes are fixed on the ball. But the
ball looks large. The ball looks slower. Time slows down. You see the ball so
clearly. Whichever shot you are hitting is so easy, so simple to keep watching
the ball. See yourself successfully hitting the difficult shots. Eyes always on
the ball, making the shots so easy.
When using your imagination or playing, you are able to give the ball
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your complete attention, more and more completely watching the ball. More
and more relaxed. Keep on relaxing now and go through the breathe and
bounce technique to deepen your relaxation. Take the ball in your hand and
observe it carefully. Breathe in deeply through your nose. Exhale slowly,
counting five, four, three, two, one. Feel the relaxation and confidence flood
through your entire body. Bounce the ball, watching it closely. Notice how it
feels, the texture, the color. See the seams. Hear the sound of the ball
bouncing on the court. You are relaxed and confident when you vividly
imagine the suggestions mentioned here; your results and improvements are
the same as though you were actually performing the suggestions on the
court.
Now, let's improve your concentration. Again, getting into your
imagination, you are playing to the best of your ability, hitting the ball well,
rallying. Now, you are a steady player and players who are steady win.
Being steady means concentrating. You are now a concentrated player. You
keep your mind in the game. Imagine playing any shot you wish. Now see
yourself making any shot. You are concentrating so well that your natural
ability tells you instinctively when to make a certain shot. See yourself
moving effortlessly to the ball. You get to the ball early. You are
concentrating so well. Your mind is ready. Therefore, your body is ready. All
the while I talk, imagine that you are on the court playing. You keep playing
and imaging playing the game just as it should be played.
Imagine and feel yourself concentrating, keeping your mind on the
court. In the game you are focused. You are finding that you concentrate
more and more surely, more and more strongly, more and more swiftly,
more and more powerfully every time you play tennis and this is so.
Your confidence is increasing with each breath that you take. Recall.
Recall vividly a time when you played your very best. Remember how you
felt. Remember how you felt in your body. Recall how vital your movements
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were. Feel it now. The speed of your body. Recall how everything flows. Feel
how light on your feet you are. Success flowing in your veins. Feeling your
muscles. You feel so good, so successful. Keep up that feeling while you repeat
a sentence after me three times, “I have tremendous confidence in my
ability to play well" (repeat 2 more times) Allow these suggestions to be
deeply implanted in the subconscious part of your mind. They exercise great
influence over your thoughts, your feelings your action, just as strongly, just
as surely, just as powerfully when you are actually on the court or when you
are listening to me or practicing self-hypnosis and imagery. It is your
desire to realize fully all of the equalities and attitudes necessary to help you
excel in playing the game of tennis. You love the game of tennis and have
great enthusiasm for it. It is a favorite avenue of personal recreation and
competition. In your imagery, you imagine and feel yourself playing the
game just as it should be played. You practice in your mind and on the court
and you notice that you are improving more and more. You are satisfied
and happy with your progress.
(18) Hypnosis from Speech Reparation: After counseling regarding the
client’s history of difficulty or inability to speak in public, I do a
desensitization exercise to help the client release the fear of speaking in
public. I use the “Heavy Backpack” for releasing conscious and subconscious
causes of fear of speaking in public. (Refer to Chapter 7: Healing Stories and
Guided Imagery) and “Finger and Thumb”technique for helping the person
release fear when speaking in public. (Refer to Chapter 9 Therapeutic Tools)
With individual adaptation, this script has helped many people overcome the
fear of speaking in public.
Repeat after me three times: "I can feel good speaking in front of
other people. I feel comfortable as a public speaker." (repeat 2 more times)
In the past you have experienced some negative emotions when you had to
speak to an audience. You are realizing that emotions can be a hindrance, or
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they can be beneficial. From now on, when you are required or want to
speak in public, you use your inner feelings as a motivation to do a good
job... That energy enables you to be calm and relaxed and feel completely at
ease in front of any audience or group of people... You can achieve your goal
of being comfortable speaking in public. With that realization, you are
becoming a successful public speaker... You see yourself before a group
speaking and feeling comfortable and confident. Repeat this image often in
your mind. If at anytime you feel uncomfortable, take a deep breath, touch
the first finger and thumb of your hand and as you exhale, the fear is gone
and you feel a sense of confidence and peace.
At all times you speak clearly, distinctly, calmly and effectively... At all
times you speak in a way that people can easily understand you... When you
are speaking to a group of people or in front of an audience, you can always
think clearly... Your thoughts are always well organized and you say what
you have to say easily in a way that gets your point across clearly... You are
an effective speaker... You are a good speaker... When speaking in front of an
audience, you always have your material prepared ahead to time and go
over it in your mind just the way you want it to be. You are well-prepared
when you get up to speak... You have something that the people want to
hear and you are providing them information that they want to know. If it
helps you can focus on one or two people who you feel are responding to
you and just imagine that you are speaking to that person or those people
and just feel good giving your speech.
Use your imagination now. You have prepared properly for this
occasion, so imagine that you are getting up in front of an audience to
speak... imagine yourself standing there calmly looking at your audience,
feeling that this is an enjoyable and wonderful experience... Imagine yourself
talking calmly to the audience, speaking clearly, getting each point across to
your audience in a simple, direct way.... Imagine yourself, as you are
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speaking to the people and really desiring to share what you have to say
with them.. Imagine that you are providing information that the people in
the audience desire to know... Now imagine yourself concluding your talk,
thanking the audience for the opportunity to share with them and be with
them... And picture yourself after the talk, with smiling people coming to
you and thanking you, telling you how much they enjoyed and learned from
your talk... As you imagine them shaking your hand, you realize that you did
a really good job... You are thankful for the experience of being able to share
with others and help them by speaking to them from your experience and
knowledge... And you are realizing that you are a good speaker... You're a
very effective speaker...Each day your self-confidence, self-acceptance, and
self-reliance keeps increasing, each day you keep improving in your ability to
easily and calmly speak to any group or audience.
Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools:
(1) Hand to Face for Therapy: (Client is in the hypnotic state) In a
few moments, I'm going to ask you to open your eyes and put your
dominate hand up in front of your face with the palm toward your face so
that you will be able to look at your fingers and the palm of your hand. As
I talk to you, you will continue to go deeper and deeper.
Open your eyes now and lift your hand up a little above eye level and
press your fingers tightly together. You become award of the feelings and
sensations in your fingers and hand. Your fingers feel like they want to
start spreading apart. Your fingers are jerking, spreading, separating,
pulling a part. The harder you try to keep them together, the more they are
jerking, spreading, separating, pulling a part. As your fingers are spreading
apart, you notice that your eyes start feeling heavy and your eyes keep
feeling heavier and heavier. Your eye lids are getting heavy, droopy,
drowsier, closing down, down. As your eyes close, you drift deeper into this
calm, peaceful, hypnotic state of relaxation.
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In a moment, your (right-left) hand and arm will move toward your
face and you keep drifting into an even deeper hypnotic state... Your hand
and arm move toward your face, but your subconscious mind will not
permit your hand to touch your face until your mind has worked out a
solution to this problem...
You have been having difficulty with (name problem) and consciously
you haven't been able to resolve it... I don't know what is causing the
problem, but the subconscious part of your mind does have the information...
so your subconscious mind can review, examine, and explore the information
in your mind and find out what has been causing that problem...
Your subconscious mind can review all the imprints, all the
impressions, all the thoughts and ideas in your mind that have been causing
that problem...and your mind can assess, evaluate, and understand that
information now from a more knowledgeable, more relaxed, more calm,
more mature point of view... and can work out a solution and resolve that
problem rapidly and completely...
Your subconscious mind is reviewing that information thoroughly and
understanding that it is okay to resolve that problem now and forever... and
when your mind has resolved that problem, then your mind causes your
hand to touch your face...
Your mind is cooperating...and is reviewing that information and is
working out a very pleasant solution to that problem...
Your subconscious mind is causing your hand to move toward your
face, but your hand will not touch your face until your subconscious mind
understands the causes and effects of what has been causing that problem
and knows that it is okay for that problem to be resolved completely...
When your mind knows it is okay for this problem to be resolved then
your hand will touch your face as a signal that the problem has been
resolved... and you are really be pleased...
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You're doing good... It feels good to continue relaxing... and later, when
you come out of the hypnotic state your whole body feels good from the top
of your head all the way down to the bottom of your feet... and you feel
confident and happy...
You are continuing to learn more and more that your own
subconscious mind is working out the solution to this problem... Your
subconscious mind knows what to do... and is doing it in just the right way
to resolve the problem completely... You may not consciously be aware of the
cause of the problem, but your subconscious mind is and is working to over
come this problem.
Past experiences that have been misunderstood subconsciously can now
be understood from a different point of view and your mind can work out
the solution to that problem in ways you do not consciously understand...
Your subconscious mind is causing your hand and arm to move toward your
face as it is reviewing, examining and exploring the information that has
been causing this problem and is working out the solution...
(Continue on if hand has not touched face.) Right now it may seem
like you are experiencing some kind of a dilemma... You may not be
consciously aware of what needs to be done to work out the solution to that
problem, but that's one of the amazingly wonderful things about your
subconscious mind... because, even though you do not consciously know what
to do, your subconscious mind has all the knowledge it needs to work out
the solution in a very pleasant way... and your subconscious mind is resolving
that problem now and forever...
In the past there was something keeping that problem from being
resolved... What ever it was that had been causing this problem is soon
changed... Your subconscious mind is understanding it from a more
knowledgeable, more mature point of view and knows that it is okay for
that problem to be resolved completely and permanently...
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That decision has got to come form you... and from your own mind...
You know that your mind is the only part of you that can cause the changes
that are needed to resolve that problem... and your mind can cause those
changes as you go about the activities of your daily life...
You can trust your own mind to do what is needed to overcome this
problem and that's what you are doing now... Your mind is receiving the
proper guidance needed to work out the solution... and you notice pleasant
changes taking place... (As your hand touches your face and you feel great.
You can now allow you hand to gently return to your lap and you
experience a deep sense of peace.
(If hand does not touched the client's face by this time, use "Therapy
Between Sessions.")
(2) Therapy Between Sessions: One of the amazing facts I have learned
over the years is that your subconscious mind can continue reviewing,
examining, and exploring the storehouse of your mind and work out
solutions to problems even after you come out of the hypnotic state... As you
proceed with your daily activities, your mind can be assessing information
that is contained in the storehouse of your mind and can understand that
information from a completely different point of view than you had when
the information went into your mind. Your subconscious can work out the
solution to that problem from a more knowledgeable, more mature point of
view.
Even after you come out of this hypnotic state, your subconscious
mind can continue reviewing all imprints, impressions, thoughts, ideas and
other information that has gone into your mind and had anything to do
with causing that problem... By the time you come back for the next session,
your mind can have a pleasant solution all worked out in a way that easily
enables you to overcome this problem... You mind is receiving the guidance,
suggestions, instructions I'm giving to you and is enabling you to be released
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from this problem...

In the past you may have had some doubts...but now those doubts are
leaving and all those doubts are soon gone completely...Those doubts are
being replaced with a strong sense of confidence and sureness...You can be
surprised at the way your confidence keeps improving more and more each
day...
You know that we are having these sessions because you are
determined to overcome this problem... It has controlled your way of life
long enough and you are determined to take control...Your subconscious
mind understands that now, and realizes that you are serious about
overcoming that problem... You have decided that you want your
subconscious mind to understand that you are ready to get that problem
resolved now and forever... You want the solution to be worked out in a way
that is pleasing and acceptable to your conscious mind... So you are letting
your subconscious mind work it out... You don't need to be thinking about it
consciously anymore... From now on your conscious mind thinks about things
that are pleasant and enjoyable to you, because your subconscious mind
knows exactly what needs to be done to work out the solution to that
problem in a very calm, peaceful way...
When you come back for your next session, you find that you quickly
go into a deep hypnotic trance soon after you sit down in the recliner here
in my office... In the meantime, you notice some very pleasant changes
taking place in your life as your subconscious mind works out the solution to
your problem. Now you are ready to come out from the hypnotic state...
(3) Finger to Thumb Technique for Releasing (This illustration is for a
smoker, but it can be used for overcoming many problems.) Now, let your
memory bring to your awareness a time when you accomplished something
that brought you a sense of pride and well-being. It may have been a
mission accomplished or a goal attained, it might have been something that
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you did for yourself or something you did for someone else. When that
memory comes to your awareness, nod your head “yes.” Now feel that good
feeling. Feel it physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Now anchor that
good feeling by touching the first finger and thumb of the hand in which
you normally hold a cigarette. Now, whenever you have a desire for a
cigarette, instead of reaching for a cigarette, take a good deep breath, touch
the first finger and thumb together and as you exhale the need and desire
for that cigarette leaves your mind and body and in its place will be a sense
of pride, accomplishment and peace. (Repeat three time
(4) Yardstick for Deepening: I would like for you to imagine a
yardstick leaning against a wall with large, easy to read numbers. The
number 36 is at the top of the yardstick and the number 1 is at the
bottom. Can you imagine that yardstick? Can you get a mental vision or
picture of the yardstick? Either is ok, so just keep that image in your mind.
Now I would like for you to add to that image a large white arrow
that is next to the yardstick and that arrow is pointing to the number 36
on the yardstick. The arrow can go down the yardstick and can point to
any number you choose.
Before you allow the arrow to move down understand that the
numbers on the yardstick have a special meaning and are personal numbers
for you. If the arrow is pointing at a number from 36 down to 25, it
means you are in a light state of comfortable hypnosis. If the arrow points
to the number 24 down to 13, it means you are in a medium, very relaxed
and comfortable state of hypnosis. If the arrow points to numbers from 12
down to 1, it means you are in a very relaxed, tranquil, comfortable,
enjoyable deep state of hypnosis.
With your mind's eye imagine the yardstick and the arrow. Began to
allow the arrow to go down one number at time. Just let it begin to go
down and when I ask you what number the arrow is pointing to, you are
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able to tell. Now let the number go down, down, down, and when it stops;
tell me the number you see, imagine, or feel and remain deeply relaxed and
comfortable, concentrate on the number the arrow is pointing to and when
you know the number, nod your head please. Very well, what number is the
arrow pointing to? (If you feel that the number is not low enough, you can
do a deepening procedure to help the arrow go down further.)
If deepening is needed, continue; now imagine that the arrow is sliding
down the yardstick as I count from 5 to 1 you go deeper and deeper. 5,
deeper and deeper 4, going down, down, down, 3, deeper 2, deeper,
deeper, deeply relaxed. What number is the arrow pointing to now? (This
can be repeated until they answer with a number below 12). If further
deepening is desired continue with a deepening technique.
(5) The Inner Guide: The use of the inner guide in hypnotherapy is
another means of communicating with the subconscious. It is also possible
that the inner guide may be God's use of the Holy Spirit to guide one
toward proper decision making and healing. The Bible often speaks of
"angels" or "messengers" speaking, guiding, and healing.
In the fourth chapter of Zachariah, we read, "Then the angel who was
speaking with me returned. (In the first chapter, the angel interpreted a
vision for Zachariah) and roused me as a man who is awakened from his
sleep." The angel speaks to Zachariah and again interprets a vision. While
he was asleep, an angel told Joseph to marry Mary (Matthew 1). An angel
appears to Peter as if in a vision to give him direction (Acts 12). St. John in
the Book of Revelations begins "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
gave him to show to his bond-servant, the things that must shortly take
place and He sent and communicated it by His angle to His bond-servant
John (Revelation 11:1).
An illustration of the inner guide as communicating with one's
subconscious can be found in the Genesis story of Jacob's wrestling match
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with an angel. If the client is a religious person, I usually tell them the
following story before using the "Inner Guide" technique. With or without a
formal induction, I tell this story:
One of my wife's favorite T.V. program is professional wrestling. A
few years ago, the weekly wrestling program came on Saturday at 4:00
p.m., Bobbie took over the T.V. to see her favorite grapplers go after their
opponents. If I was watching a football, basketball or baseball game, I had
to either watch wrestling or go to the another room to watch T.V. For that
hour, Bobbie had priority on the den T.V. Today, she has even more
wrestling to watch with the WWE having programs several nights a week.
Apparently, she is not by herself, because wrestling is one of the most
watched programs on T.V. I admit that I also enjoy watching wrestling.
Most of us are familiar with The Rock, Triple H, Jericho, Hulk Hogan, Rick
Flair, Stone Cold Austin, Kevin Nash etc.
Wrestling is not a new sport. It has been around for centuries.
Recorded in the Old Testament Book of Genesis. (Genesis 32) is one of the
earlier recorded wrestling matches. The match was between Jacob and an
angel. You may be wondering to yourself, "Well, that is an interesting and
unusual story, but what value does that wrestling match between Jacob and
the angel have to do with me?" That is a good question. It is true that the
story has great meaning in the history of the Jewish people, but does it have
anything to say about you, to your life experience, and/or your struggle to
live as a meaningful and worthwhile human being?
If you can use your imagination just a little, you can receive a great
personal message from this wrestling match. Every person has periods when
he or she has had a struggle with their own inner self about some critical
decision that they had to make. There have been times and there will be
times when one must wrestle with his own thoughts. Therefore, if you can
see this as a wrestling match between a person and his thoughts, this story
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can speak to your situation in life in a very contemporary way.

Have you every awakened in the night with a thought nagging you
until sleep was impossible? How often have you struggled with some decision
to be made or a guilty feeling over some wrong done, or some hurtful word
spoken to another, or a helpful act left undone?
The story of Jacob's wrestling match with the angel is the timeless
story about making decisions, of choosing between the good and bad, the
best or something less. During Old Testament times, a person's name was
an indication of his character. The name "Jacob" comes from a Hebrew
word meaning "a heel". Jacob was a twin and when the time came for his
mother to deliver the elder twin Esau, Jacob was holding onto his brother's
heel. The symbolism of this is seen in Jacob's endeavor to hold Esau back
and secure first place for himself. Because of this fact, the second child was
called Jacob, or "one who takes by the heel" or "one who endeavors to take
the position of another." It also reminds me of an American slang expression
which describes an unethical person as a "heel".
I am reminded of my tour with the Army in Thailand. In Thailand,
there is a special significance to the foot in Thai thinking. It is impolite and
downright insulting to point the bottom one's foot at another person. To
point one's foot at another is considered insulting and vulgar. It is against
the law in Thailand to step on money because a picture of the king is on the
money and it would indicate that one is insulting the king and has no
respect for the nation.
Since the heel is the lowest part of the human body, a person who is a
heel is the lowest form of human life. Jacob was a heel until that moment
of self understanding in an all night wrestling match with an angel at the
river Jabbok. Prior to that event, Jacob's life story was one event of deceit
followed by another. These acts of deceit are first seen in Jacob's
relationship with his brother and his father. One day, Jacob was cooking
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one of his favorite dishes when Esau came in from a hunting trip. As it had
been a long hunt and Esau had been without food for a long time, he was
naturally hungry. Esau said, "Let me eat some of that good smelling
pottage, for I am starving." Jacob saw his chance to supplant his older
brother and so replied, "Give me your birthright and you can have a bowl of
this great tasting pottage." The birthright belonged to the oldest son and
gave to that son the right to succeed to rank or title of the father and claim
twice the property of any other child. Esau was more concerned with his
stomach than his birthright and so he sold Jacob his birthright for a mere
bowl of pottage.
Following that conquest, Jacob tricked his aging and sightless father
into giving him Esau’s blessing. By taking advantage of his father and by
cheating his brother, Jacob secured advantages for himself. He treated
other people as things to be used for his own advantage rather than relating
to them as persons. However, as Jacob used other people as things, he
found himself being used by his father-in-law, who deceived him. Even with
that deception, Jacob ended up besting his father-in-law and left with the
best sheep as he returned to his homeland.
As he returned home, he was rich and successful, but feared what his
brother might do to him when they met. On the way home, he stopped by
a river called "Jabbok". He sent some of his best sheep to Esau as a peace
offering. Having sent everybody on ahead, he spent the night by himself
and the most important event of his life took place. He wrestled with an
angel all night. Before the wrestling match was over, Jacob asked the angel
for a blessing and he received it.
Jacob could not undo what had been done, but he could do something about
his attitude toward himself and others. Jacob decided to wrestle with his
attitude toward life until he had an answer. During this all night encounter
by the river, Jacob was able to change his attitude about life, himself, others
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and God.
Jacob had been a cheat and a heel and it appeared that he would
remain one until he had the wrestling match with the angel. As a result of
that life changing experience, his name was changed to "Israel" which means
"with God".
Our life situation and history may be vastly different from that of
Jacob, but like Jacob, we can wrestle with our conscious and come from
that wrestling match a new person. As we wrestle, we too can ask for a
blessing and having received the blessing, accept the blessing and live the
blessing.
To introduce the client to his inner guide, I may use a guided image
such as a walk in the country, lying down by a stream and in the distance
see a figure coming toward you. Just let the figure be whoever it will be.
The guide is friendly, loving, caring and wants to help you live the best you
can. You can ask the inner guide for insights to your problem (sickness,
inferiority, lack of self confidence, failure cycle, fear, anxiety, etc.). There is
nothing threatening about your experience for in fact it is a very pleasant
experience.
Discuss your problem with the inner guide as you would with a close
friend. Pay attention to any information your guide shares with you. It is
possible that the information may be symbolic, so remember everything.
When you have completed your conversation, establish an agreement with
your guide for future conversations.
If at first you have trouble communicating with your inner guide, do
not get discouraged. Though this inner guide is part of you, you are not
accustomed to communicating with your inner self. By practice you can
establish communication which will be beneficial to you.
If you are uncomfortable consulting your inner guide, remember that
it is your subconscious mind, your inner self which is that intuitive, wise,
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responsive part of you which you seldom communicate with, but which is
there to help you. If you can establish a meaningful relationship with your
inner guide, you may receive important information and advice about your
feelings, motivation, and behavior. The guide may let you know what
caused the problem, illness, fear, and what you can do to help improve
yourself. [Simonton & Craighteon, p177]
(6) Institute of Universal Knowledge: This script is for “Weight
Control”, but it can be adapted to any problem.) So let yourself continue
relaxing now. Allow yourself to drift into a state that is similar to a
dreaming state. Notice the soothing music in the background as you
continue drifting into a drowsier, more peaceful state of complete
relaxation... Remembering that when you dream; sometimes you can
remember much of the dream, sometimes only a part, sometime you are
only aware that you dreamed, but do not remember what you dreamed,
and sometime you dream and do not even realize that you dreamed.
Image that you are dreaming and in that dream, you are floating on
a soft, fluffy, white cloud completely safe and secure. As you float on this
fluffy, white cloud, notice the beautiful landscape beneath you and the
beautiful blue sky and cloud formations above you.
You are continuing to become more calm and relaxed; experiencing a
feeling of peace and serenity; letting yourself experience and enjoy perfect
peace of mind. This is such a wonderful, pleasant, soothing experience, that
you are becoming more relaxed, more calm, more peaceful, and more at
ease; as you float gently and safely on your soft, fluffy, white cloud.
As you continue drifting on a soft, gently, white fluffy cloud, you
notice a beautiful building off in the distance. The cloud is gradually
carrying you toward that beautiful building. (Pause) As you move closer to
the building, you notice a sign on front of the building. It says: INSTITUTE
OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE. The white soft fluffy cloud settles down on
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the ground right at the steps which lead to the front door of the INSTITUTE
OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE. You walk up the steps and open the door.
When you enter the building, you find you are in direct contact with
universal knowledge, truth, wisdom and understanding. When you are
inside the building, you may notice a variety of wonderful sensations. You
may notice a wonderful aroma...a feeling of peace and contentment...a
pleasant warmth...a strong feeling of love and a feeling of oneness with the
creator (If a religious person, I say “oneness with God”)...
Inside the room there are three large windows and a door. There is
one window that you can look through that reveals the experiences from
your past and enables you to understand them clearly. A second window
reveals the solution to problems and answers to questions, a third exposes
future events that can be of value to you and the door says “The Healing
Room.” You walk over to the window of the past and as you look out of
the window of the past, you can see any experience of the past that
contributes your being overweight. You can look at those experiences, see
them from a more mature point of view and realize you can release any
blocks that prevent you from your reaching and maintaining a weight of
_____ pounds. Take as much time as you need in the next one minute of
clock time to explore the past, let it speak to you and release its power over
you so that you can reach and maintain a weight of ______ pounds. (Pause
for one minute) The window of the past has spoken to you and you can now
move to the next window.
You move over to the window which can give you the answer to
questions and the solution to problems. Taking as much time as you need in
the next one minute of clock time to ask any question that you want to ask
and receive the answer and the solutions to problems. (Pause for one
minute) The window of the answer to questions and the solution to problems
has spoken to you and you can now move to the next window.
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You move over to the window of the future. As you look out of the
window of the future, see yourself as you want to be at _________ pounds.
Enjoy life, enjoy the experience; taking as much time as you need in the
next one minute of clock time. (Pause for one minute) Now, you move to
the door which has the sign “The Healing Room” and you enter the room.
There is a bed and you lie down on it. A healing warm light surrounds you
and you feel the healing powers of the Creator bringing health and healing
to you. As you lie there, you hear a voice. (Go from there with appropriate
scripts for the problem you are working with.)
(7) The Triple Sensitizing Events: (These are the events that lead to
an unnatural fear or a phobia)
1. Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE): Not recallable by conscious mind.
a. The individual is sensitized by an emotionally powerful past incident.
The psychological foundation for the fear/phobia begins with the Initial
Sensitizing Event but no symptoms appear.
b. It is the underlying problem.
c. Not always easy to find and not always necessary but there may be a
recurrence of symptoms if not dealt with.
d. Beginning of the problem and future problems.
2. Symptom Producing Event (SPE):
a. The appearance of symptoms (usually recallable).
b. Second emotionally powerful event triggers symptoms.
c. Not always apparently related in the conscious to the ISE.
3. Symptom Intensifying Event (SIE): (recallable).
a. Intensification of Symptoms.
b. Intensifying experiences may be many and different.
c. As symptoms get worse, the client is motivatived to seek help.
d. Careful you don’t get stuck here and think it is SPE
(8) Finger or Pendulum Response for Therapy: You are relaxed and at
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ease now and you continue to feel more calm, relaxed, and peaceful as I talk
to you. You are experiencing the wonderful sensations that relaxation brings
to you. You are relaxed and comfortable. You are becoming more relaxed.
With each breath that you take and with each sound that you hear, you
become more and more relaxed. As you become more and more relaxed,
you experience contentment and peace of mind.
There are some questions which I would like to ask you. Now these
questions can be answered "yes" or "no". We will not go any further than
"yes" or "no" answers unless I feel it is important to discuss an area with you
to remove any blocks to your subconscious. This will be done only with your
consent. Is that OK with you, please nod your head “yes.” (Wait for head
nod.)
I am going to ask you some questions which can be answered either
"yes" or "no". Your subconscious mind is controlling the fingers of your hand.
I request that your subconscious mind chose a "yes" finger. Whenever I ask a
question which your subconscious mind answer with "yes", that finger will
rise. Your subconscious mind is picking out a "yes" finger, and that finger is
becoming very light. In fact, it is lighter than air and just wants to float up.
Don't assist it; don't resist it; just let it drift up. (If there is little or no
activity witnessed on any finger, you may say), "The movement may just be
a wiggle, but any movement will indicate a "yes" answer. (In just about
every case, you will get at least a wiggle. Highly indirect suggestibles do not
show much movement, but just a wiggle is enough.). The "yes" finger is
lighter than air; it is beginning to rise. That's good, your _________ finger of
your _________ hand is the "yes" finger. Now just let your finger float back
down, and as it does, you become twice as relaxed.
Now allow your subconscious mind to pick out a "no" finger. (I then go
through similar suggestions as with the "yes" finger.) Your subconscious mind
is causing your "no" finger to rise or maybe just wiggle. That's good. Your
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__________ finger of your _________ hand is the "no" finger. Now, just let your
finger float back down, and as it does, you become twice as relaxed.
Your subconscious mind knows the correct answer to each question which I
ask. Each time I ask a question, which should be answered "yes", your "yes"
finger will rise. If the correct answer is "no", your "no" finger will rise.
Now that your subconscious mind is controlling your "yes" finger and
your "no" finger, let us begin with the questions. (If the finger rises and stays
up or if it moves up in jerky way, you can generally interpret the answer as
a subconscious response. If the finger goes up and right back down, you can
consider the answer a conscious response and may not be correct. The finger
tends to stay up as a subconscious response because the subconscious
responded to the suggest to rise and tends to stay up until told to go down.)
Just let your subconscious answer "yes" or "no".
Pendulum Response: When using the pendulum, ask subconscious to
think “yes” while holding the string or chain holding the pendulum. Wait
and the pendulum will began to swing either back and forth or right to left
or in a circle. Following pendulum’s “yes” direction, ask for a “no” response.
The pendulum will began to move in one of the other directions. Some
therapist ask for an “I do not want to answer” which would move a third
direction. When “yes” and “no” directions have been noted, continue. I
consider the pendulum be much more accurate for subconscious questioning
than the finger response. I follow the client’s attitude or belief system to
guide me in using the pendulum or the finger response. Some clients may
consider the pendulum an occult practice. If during the counseling session, I
have an idea that the client would look upon the pendulum as occult or I am
not sure one way or the other, I will use the finger response for subconscious
questing. I have had clients answer “no” while their finger or the pendulum
answered “yes”. The subconscious answer is the correct answer.
(9) Questions for Therapy: These questions can be asked when
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working with a number of problems such as stop smoking, lose weight,

overcoming phobias, insomnia, bad habits, sexual problems, and more. You
may use some and not other, and you may add your own questions.
1. Is there any emotional reason why you have this problem ?
2. Have you gone through some experience in the past that is causing this
problem ?
3. Are you identifying with someone else, perhaps a relative, who had this
problem?
4. Are you using this problem to punish yourself?
5. Are you using this problem to punish someone else?
6. Are you trying to harm yourself by this problem ?
7. Is there any conflict concerning sex that contributes to this problem?
8. Do you have this problem because you feel guilty of something?
9. Do you experience this problem more when you feel lonely?
10. Do you experience this problem more when you feel stress or tension?
11. Do you experience this problem more when you are angry?
12. Do you experience this problem to pamper or appease yourself?
13. Do you use this problem as a means of drawing attention to yourself?
14. Is it O.K. with your subconscious to get rid of this problem? (If the
response is “yes.” I continue therapy for releasing the problem. If the
response is “no”, I accept that response. I then give suggestions that the
subconscious mind will begin to work on releasing the problem and by the
time he/she returns for the next session the subconscious can have a very
pleasant solution to the problem.)
(10) Circle Therapy: Circle Therapy is a very successful therapy for
releasing fears. (Circle Therapy should not be used with phobias. For phobias
use desensitization.) In the hypnotic state, the client is led to feel the fear.
As the fear builds and I notice an abreaction (a venting out which is
reflected in facial expressions or body movement), I tell the client to “Feel it
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and feel it even more, now take a good deep breath and blow it out, blow
out all the fear and anxiety. Pass it, let it go, and you go even deeper into
the hypnosis state." I then give positive statements that the next time they
will feel more comfortable and in control. Again have them experience the
fear, take a deep breath, blow it out, let it go, feel better. Each time you
make the circle, the fear and abreaction is reduced. When it is apparent
that the client is letting the fear go, I say, "Feel it but the harder you try to
feel it, the more difficult it becomes to feel it. In fact you begin to identify
an amusement about the situation. You begin to smile and feel at ease. Let
go of the past, the past cannot affect you now and the next time this
situation occurs, you feel comfortable and relaxed."
Dr. John Kappas states that circle therapy results in:
1. Weakens the symptom and allows the client to face it again once the
abreaction has ceased.
2. Allows the subject to face the cause without experiencing the
symptom.
3. Increases the subjects ability to adapt.
4. Can relieve the fear of loss of control and the dread that fear will
someday control the subject completely.
5. Helps remove the fear of facing the trauma alone.
6. Allows for a positive behavior to be substantiated for negative one.
[Kappas Professional Hypnotism Manuel 131-133]
(11) Desensitization: Desensitization is very similar to circle therapy
and can be used for either fears or phobias. The main difference between
circle therapy and desensitization is the client is not allowed to fully
experience the fear or phobia. Using the finger rising technique, have the
finger rise as soon as client feels the fear. I say, “Take a good deep breath
and blow it out, let it go, feel calm and relaxed” and then repeat until the
finger does not rise. Visualize that you feel calm and relaxed with a
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situation that normally causes this problem.”

In desensitization, I may have the client view the fear from a distance
and suggest a feeling of being calm and relaxed. Next I have the client come
closer to the fear and letting go of anxiety and fear. I make a point "facing
the fear in a normal way," because it may be a normal fear that has been
exaggerated. The normal fear should remain but not the morbid fear. If
one has a problem crossing a street because of fear, I point out that it is
normal fear that causes one to look both ways before crossing a street, but it
is ok to cross when the traffic light gives you the right of way or if there is
no traffic light when no cars are coming. It is abnormal fear that prevents
one from ever crossing the street.
During desensitization, one can go through the procedures from start
to conclusion and release the fear at each step. For instance, the client has a
fear of public speaking. Have the client being invited to speak, preparing the
speech, traveling to the place of the speech, being introduced as a speaker,
speaking, and conclusion of speech. Any time throughout that exercise that
the client’s finger rises say, “Take a good deep breath and blow it out, let it
go, feel calm and relaxed” and then repeat until the finger does not rise.
Now you feel relaxed and calm when faced with a similar situation.
(12) Waterfall for Cleansing: Imagine that you are taking a walk in
the woods. You are walking along a beautiful path through the woods. As
you walk, you may experience a number of things. Possibly you are aware
of tall trees and short trees; small trees and large trees. It is a warm but
comfortable day. Perhaps you feel a comfortable breeze... just enough to
keep you comfortable. Maybe you can hear the rustling of the leaves and
the crunch of the leaves, twigs, and grass beneath your feet. As you look up
through the leaves of the trees, you see a sparkling of sunlight, dancing to
time with the breeze.
You come to an open area with a small pond. At one end of the pond
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is a beautiful waterfall. At the other end is a stream which runs as far as

the eye can see. You look up and see a beautiful blue sky, with a few white
fluffy clouds lazily drifting by. You sit down by the pond and enjoy the
sounds of birds singing, the frogs croaking and the water falling.
As you sit there, you sense that there is something special about the
waterfall. It seems to be inviting you to come over to it and indeed you
do...You reach out and touch the water and the temperature is just right so
you walk under the falls... You feel its cleansing flow and you realize that it
is not only cleansing your body, but it is also cleansing you. It is cleansing
your body, mind and spirit. You feel that any anger, bitterness, feeling of
rejection, grief, guilt, abuse or any other negative emotions which
contributes to your problem are being cleansed out of your system.
You look down toward your feet and you notice that the water
coming from your body is a murky brown and it is flowing across the pond
and down the stream at the other end. The more negativity that you
release the murkier the water appears to be. As you feel these negative
emotions being cleansed from your system, the water around your feet
began to clear, but you can see the murky brown water flowing further and
further down the stream.
As the murky water flows down the stream, further and further
away, you feel more and more comfortable, more at peace with yourself...
Your feelings of calmness increases... You feel more at ease... It gives you a
strong feeling of peace. You are feeling yourself being cleansed of all those
negative feelings that contribute to your problem. The anger, bitterness,
feeling of rejection, grief, guilt, abuse or any other negative emotions that
contributes to your problem are being cleansed from your system... Notice
the feeling of comfort and peace increase as the murky brown water flows
down the stream further and further away. As the murky brown water
flows further and further away, you feel your problems dissolving. You feel
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a sense of release and relief.. You are getting rid of those problems.
The murky brown water is following further and further away. It is
now beyond your eye sight and you can breathe deeper and exhale slowly a
few times and really enjoy the freedom, the relief and powerfulness of being
free of those problems... The relief, the calmness, the peacefulness are flowing
through you and have replaced all those negative feelings that were washed
away. These feelings of comfort, serenity and well-being remain with you
even after you come out of the hypnotic state...
(13) Waking Hypnosis: When the situation is not appropriate for a
formal hypnotic induction, I will sometimes use waking hypnosis. While
visiting a young woman, she told me that she was very fearful of an
upcoming myelogram. A few years before, she had gone through a
myelogram which had been very painful. For several days following the
myelogram she had a severe headache.
As I had no consult from her doctor, I would not use a formal
hypnotic induction. I took the patient's hand and spoke softly. "You know
we have found that people who have a second myelogram experience little
or no discomfort. You are going to be surprised at how easy this myelogram
will be. In fact, you will hardly feel anything but maybe some pressure. You
will come out of the experience feeling comfortable and relaxed with no
after effects." The next day when I saw her, she told me that she went
through the procedure without any difficulties and no headache. She did not
give me any credit for the ease with which she went through the
myelogram.
(14) Prayer Hypnosis: On occasions, I use prayer hypnosis when it
would not be suitable to use a formal hypnotic induction. A nurse asked me
to help a patient who was experiencing considerable pain. As her doctor
was unavailable for a consult, I used prayer hypnosis with the woman. As
she was a very religious person, I suggested that we pray.
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I began the prayer, "As I pray, just let yourself relax because the more
relaxed you are, the more effective this prayer will be. Now I want you to
use your imagination so that the prayer will be even more effective. In Mark
11:24 (KJV), Jesus seems to be saying that imagery with prayer causes the
prayer to be more effective. 'Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever
you desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have
them.'" Following this introduction, I used the imagery of Jesus coming and
placing His hand on the area of discomfort. I concluded with words of
comfort and healing followed by, "In Jesus' name, amen." She was very
relaxed and comfortable and I suggested she close her eyes again and drift
into a peaceful and restful sleep. (Refer to Chapter 29: Cancer Patient: Bee’s
Case History: “Christ by Bedside Script”
SECTION TWO: PIONEERS IN PSYCHIATRY
Chapter 10: Sigmund Freud:
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856. His mother called him "my
Golden Sigi" (from “Das Sieg” meaning "victory"). He was the oldest of six
surviving children and started medical school in 1873. In 1885 he changed
his first name from Sigismund to Sigmund. He graduated from medical
school in 1881 and 1885 Freud studied under Charcot in Paris who used
hypnosis in the treatment of hysteria. In 1886, he married Martha
Bernays. They had 6 children in 8 years and were married for 50 years.
In 1886, Freud coined the term "psychoanalysis" as a technique for
the treatment of psychological problems. He worked with Joseph Breuer who
had been fascinated with the use of hypnosis as a treatment tool. Freud
began to follow his colleague in the use of hypnosis for the bringing about of
a catharsis, a concept also known as abreaction. He later stopped using
hypnosis because he was not a good hypnotist. Sigmund Freud is not one of
my heros, but much of the basis of psychology today began with Freud.
Freud died in London on September 26, 1939.
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In a career that covered over forty years, Sigmund Freud developed

perhaps the first comprehensive theory of personality. Freud gave special
attention to the unconscious which he viewed as the region of the mind that
contained feelings, urges and passions which exerted control over conscious
behavior. He worked with hypnosis, free association and dream
interpretation which enables the therapist to tap these unconscious but
powerful determinants of behavior.
THE ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO: According to Freud, there are three
divisions or systems of personality: the id, ego and superego: Freud regards
the id as the original system of personality, consisting of all that is inherited
at birth, including instincts. Within the id lies the reservoir of psychic
energy which fuels the other two systems; the ego and the superego. The id
represents the inner world of subjective experience and operates to reduce
tension. Because the id cannot tolerate tension, it attempts to discharges it
immediately and returns the organism to a hemostatic state. This principle
of tension reduction is called the "pleasure principle." Thus, the id functions
to satisfy the needs of the organisms by decreasing pain and increasing
pleasure, with no concern for external realities or morality. The id knows no
values, no good, no evil, no morality. The id operates below conscious
awareness and is the source of sexual drive, aggression, the will to survive, to
seek food, warmth and so on.
Because the id is the driving force of the personality and functions at
an unconscious level with no concern for external reality, the “ego” exists to
make transactions with the outside world of reality. It is the responsibility of
the ego to make decisions about which instincts to satisfy and to somehow
mediate between the conflicting demands of the id, the superego, and the
real world. The ego is said to operate by the "reality principle." A proverb
states that one cannot serve two masters at once. The ego has a still harder
time of it. The ego has three harsh masters and it does its best to reconcile
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the claims and demands of all three. The three masters are the external
world, the superego, and the id.
The “superego” represents the moral and traditional values of society
which are communicated to the child by the parents, schools and religious
institutions. As children, we are rewarded by our parents for good behavior
and punished by them for wrongdoing. Thus the behavior for which we are
punished becomes part of our "conscience" and positive behavior becomes
part of our ego-ideal. The superego is comprised of these two subsystems:
the "conscience" which punishes us with guilt, and the "ego-ideal," which
rewards us with pride. The functions of the superego include restraining the
impulses of the id, convincing the ego to substitute moralistic goals for
realistic ones and striving for perfection. Unresolved conflicts between parts
of the personality can cause mental disturbances which gives rise to anxiety.
We develop defense mechanisms which are intended to disguise the anxiety
from others and even ourselves.
FREUD STAGES OF LIFE:
l. Oral stage (from birth to 18 months): The child is self-absorbed and
wants to receive and have its needs meet. The adult character traits are
sometimes related to the two basic oral activities of eating food and biting.
Focus on eating can be displaced with the desire to gain possessions while
biting is sometimes displaced as sarcasm. The erogenous zone is the month.
2. Anal stage (from 18 months to 3-5 years): This is a time of potty
training and that is translated into withholding and giving. The anal
personality may be cruel or obstinate. Anal retentiveness is demonstrated
with controlling and hoarding. Anal expulsion is seen in giving and
expressiveness. The erogenous zone is the anus.
3. Phallic stage (From 3-5 to 6-8): At this stage, language and primitive
concepts become important. (A) The erogenous zone is the genitals and
there is a tendency to focus on this area as a source of pleasure.
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(B) Primary activity results in heterosexual interaction. He becomes more

aware of the external world and begins to move from being a nonsocial
being to a social being. He begins to understand that he is not the center of
the universe and that mother and daddy have a relationship independent of
himself.
(C) Male Oedipus Complex comes from Greek mythology and is represented
by the boy's lusting for the mother. The boy wants to become his mother's
lover in such a way as is determined by his child-like observations and
intuitions about sexual life. The boy views his father as the major threat to
his desires for his mother and worries what his father would do if he found
out what the son wanted (castration anxiety). The child overcomes this by
dropping his desire for his mother and identifying with his father. He
represses the memory of his desire for his mother and goes on about the
business of growing up.
(D) Female Oedipus Complex (It is to be noted that Freud never used the
term "Electra Complex" which is general used for the Female Oedipus
Complex.) Females come to enjoy their sexual organs just like boys.
However, they notice that they have no protruding organ and according to
Freud she feels cheated. This is called, "penis envy." Girls began to transfer
love from mother to father and competes for father's attention and
affection. Once she realizes she cannot compete, she begins to identify with
her mother.
(4) Latency stage (from 6-8 to puberty): Both sexes forget or repress their
Oedipal attachments and there is a reduction of sexuality in the child. The
child moves from a narcissistic orientation to more socialized interaction.
(5) Genital stage (puberty to death): During puberty there is a re-
emergence of sexual instincts and sexual conflicts reappear. The first
manifestation is usually in the form of an "adolescent crush" on an older
person of the opposite sex. Heterosexual relationships become increasingly
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more important, as does the ability to form intimate relationships with

members of the same sex.
To a Freudian therapist, defense mechanisms are fundamental to the
individual's psychological survival. They are used to help the individual deal
with anxiety. When one cannot deal with anxiety through appropriate and
rational methods, he resorts to unrealistic measures; the ego-defense
mechanisms.
SOME DEFENSE MECHANISM AS DEVELOPED BY FREUD ARE:
1. Repression: Repression is one of the earliest Freudian concepts. It
involves the removal of painful or dangerous thoughts and experiences from
consciousness. According to Freud, a highly traumatic event is not forgotten
but is removed from one's awareness, producing amnesia. According to
Freud the repression of an event or experience is not complete and such
repressed desires may be revealed through dreams or slips of the tongue. In
certain cases repression may be temporary and may protect the individual
until other resources or methods of coping are available. Unfortunately,
repression can also be used to enable the individual to deceive himself and
evade learning more effective methods of dealing with the problem. The
results is that the energy used to maintain the defense posture prevents the
individual from coping effectively on a daily basis.
2. Projection: Projection involves transferring blame for our own
shortcomings onto others as well as attributing to others our unacceptable
desires or impulses.
3. Reaction Formation. Reaction formation is a defensive reaction in which
a dangerous impulse is replaced by a feeling or behavior pattern that is just
the opposite.
4. Fixation: Fixation is getting stuck in one of the stages of maturing.
Personality development involves passage through a series of well-defined
stages. At each stage there is a certain amount of frustration and anxiety.
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If the anxiety of the next stage is too great, the individual's development
may get stuck and not move forward.
5. Regression. Regression is a reaction to stress that involves reverting back
to a less mature level of adjustment in order to feel safe and secure and get
one's needs met.
6. Denial: Denial involves the refusal to acknowledge unpleasant realities by
ignoring their existence. Denial prevents one from facing the real conflict
and problems of our daily life.
7. Rationalization: Rationalization involves coming up with logical, ethical or
socially approved reasons for our behavior which enables us to do things that
are sources of conflict for us. Rationalization softens the blow of
disappointment, but can result in serious damage to one's ego.
8. Sublimation: Sublimation is the channeling of aggressive or sexual
impulses into social acceptable activity.
9. Identification. Identification occurs as part of an individual's normal
development and is used to enhance self-worth. Individuals who have a
poor self-image may identify with someone special as a means of feeling
better about himself. One might identify with an athletic team, a social
group or an individual.
10. Compensation: Compensation involves masking weaknesses or feelings of
inferiority by developing other aspects of one's physique or personality.
Compensatory behavior can have either a positive or negative influence on
one's adjustment. The individual exaggerates his positive traits in order to
make up for those that negatively influence the individual's self-concept.
11. Displacement: Displacement is the shift of emotions from the original
situation to a safer one. 12. Introjection. Introjection involves taking on
the attitudes and values of others in an attempt to control one's own
behavior and to act in an acceptable way.
Freud lectured extensively on the subject of parapraxes (slips of the
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tongue) which is often referred to as a Freudian slip. During one lecture, he

said, "Well, it looks now as though we have solved the problem of slips of the
tongue and with very little trouble! They are not change events but serious
mental acts; they have a sense; they arise for the concurrent action-or
perhaps rather, the mutually opposing actions - of two different intentions."
It can be assumed that slips of the tongue were also regarded by Freud to be
an action due to some interference of the unconscious.
FREUD AND HYPNOSIS: Freud used hypnosis for a time but eventually
renounced it in favor of free association and dream interpretation. Freud
became interested in hypnosis when he learned of a report by Dr. Breur, a
Viennese physician who had helped cure cases of "hysteria" by encouraging a
patient under hypnosis to talk about the circumstance when her symptoms
began. Once recalled and expressed, she felt much better. Convinced that
hypnosis was the key to treating hysteria, Freud moved to Paris to study at
an insane asylum under Charcot. In his book The Freud Reader, Gay quotes
Freud in reference to Hippolyte Bernheim’s book on suggestion, "They will
find that the work of Dr. Bernheim of Nancy provides an admirable
introduction to the study of hypnotism that it is in many respects
stimulating and in some positively illuminating, and that it is well calculated
to destroy the belief that the problem of hypnosis is still surrounded by a
halo of absurdity."
Freud’s biggest problem with hypnosis was that he was not a good
hypnotist. He did not like hypnosis because it did not work on everyone.
Well Mr. Freud "free association" does not work on everyone and the best
medicines discovered by the scientific mind does not work on everyone so if
that were the guide, we would deny ourselves the use of many good
medicines and therapeutic techniques.
Raymond Young writes, "Freud's method of free association sets out to
discover a patient's repressed experiences. This may be achieved by the
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patient's free expression of thoughts, ideas, and fantasies. Free association

may be used in two ways; either patients say whatever comes into their
minds in response to a word given by the analyst or alternatively patients
say whatever comes into their minds for a set period of time. Freud found
these methods when used over many sessions facilitated patients' abilities to
retrieve past events from their unconscious minds. It dramatically alleviated
their repressed or suppressed feelings and memories."
Freud observed that his patients experienced difficulty at some point
during free association. He believed that this was because of painful or
traumatic experiences which were often sexual in origin. Freud became
convinced that the most important motivating force in life is an individual's
sexuality. Freud's preoccupation with free association began in 1894. It was
closely associated with his discovery of the unconscious and greatly helped
him to diagnose the cause and symptoms of neurosis.
It is also said that Freud did not like the authoritative approach of
hypnosis as was used during his time and therefore developed free
association. There is evidence that Freud used some very authoritarian
approaches to get to the what he considered the source of the problem.
When Freud was working on his "seduction theory," he was very persistent
in recovering memories of sexual abuse similar to the present day "Recovered
Memory Therapist." (Refer to Chapter 40: False Memories: Truth or
Consequence) Freud states, "We must not believe what they say when they
deny having memories, we must always assume, and tell them, too, that
they have kept something back... We must insist on this, we must repeat the
pressure and represent ourselves as infallible, till at last we are really told
something... It is of course of great importance for the progress of the
analysis that one should always turn out to be in the right via-a-vis the
patient, otherwise one would always be dependent on what he chose to tell...
We must not be lead astray by initial denials... If we keep firmly to what we
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inferred, we shall in the end conquer every resistance by emphasizing the

unshakable nature of our convictions...If the memory which we have
uncovered does not answer our expectations, it may be that we ought to
pursue the same path a little bit further; perhaps behind the first traumatic
scene there may be concealed the memory of a second which satisfies our
requirement better.”
In his book Victims of Memory, Mark Pendergrast writes, "Eventually,
Freud changed his mind, concluding that most of these incestuous events
never occurred, that the 'memories' were actually a form of fantasy, even
wish fulfillment. He couldn't admit, however that he had actually planted
these memories. (Pendergrast footnote inserted here: 'In 1925, Freud
wrote that 'these scenes of seduction had never taken place’ adding that
'they were only fantasies which my patients had made up or which I myself
had perhaps forced on them.' He still couldn't really bring himself to admit
his own role, though. Later in the same paragraph, he asserted, 'I do not
believe even now that I forced the seduction-fantasias on my patients, that I
suggested them. I had in fact stumbled for the first time on the Oedipus
complex.') Instead, he concluded that they were innate fantasies."
"As a result, he concocted the Oedipus and Electra complexes,
asserting that young children yearned to displace the parent of the same
gender and have sex with the other. Freud's entire elaborated edifice was
based on his obsession with childhood sexuality."
In his Autobiographical Study written in 1924, Freud gives his reasons
for rejecting hypnosis and embracing free association, "I abandoned
hypnotism and sought to replace it by some other method because I was
anxious not to be restricted to treating hysterical conditions. Increasing
experience had also given rise to two grave doubts in my mind as to the use
of hypnosis even as a means of catharsis. The first was that even the most
brilliant results were liable to be suddenly wiped away if my personal
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relation with the patient became disturbed. (Durbin-the same can be said of
psychoanalysis.) It was true that they would be re-established if a
reconciliation could be effected; but such an occurrence proved that the
personal emotional relation between doctor and patient was after all
stronger that the whole cathartic process, and it was precisely that factor
which escaped every effort at control. (Durbin-the same is true of
psychoanalysis as verified in the many years needed for treatment.)"
"And one day I had an experience which showed me in the crudest
light what I had long suspected. It related to one of my most acquiescent
patients, with whom hypnotism had enabled me to bring about the most
marvelous results, and whom I was engaged in relieving of her suffering by
tracing back her attacks of pain to their origins. As she woke up on one
occasion, she threw her arms round my neck. The unexpected entrance of a
servant relieved us from a painful discussion, but from that time onwards
there was a tacit understanding between us that the hypnotic treatment
should be discontinued." (Durbin-this could have happened in any kind of
therapeutic situation. Certainly it does not occur with greater frequency
when hypnosis is used than it does with any other therapeutic technique.)
"I was modest enough not to attribute the event to my own irresistible
personal attraction, and I felt that I had now grasped the nature of the
mysterious element that was at work behind hypnotism. In order to exclude
it, or at all events to isolate it, it was necessary to abandon hypnosis." He
later said "So I abandoned hypnosis, only retaining my practice of requiring
the patient to lie upon the sofa while I sat behind him, seeing him, but not
seen myself."
Freud’s Introduction to Hypnosis: (Source unknown): Anna O. Bertha
Pappenheim, nicknamed "Anna O." for reasons of anonymity, sought
treatment from Breuer from December, 1880 to June 1882. She had
symptoms including paralysis, suicidal tendencies and vision, hearing and
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language problems. Breuer diagnosed this as hysteria. During treatment, he

discovered that if the source of the psychological trouble was discovered and
realized, that the symptoms would lessen or even be eliminated. Labeled the
"talking cure," this method became the basis for Freud's method of free
association. Sigmund and Martha named their first daughter after
Breuer's wife, Matilde. In 1885, Freud studied under the tutelage of the
French neurologist of great renown, Jean-Martin Charcot. Charcot was
interested in the study and effects of hypnotism and played a key role in
making hypnotism more accepted by the medical community (Hergenhahn,
1994). This encounter with Charcot laid the foundation for Freud's future
theories. Charcot had such a profound effect on Freud that he named his
first son "Jean-Martin" (Hergenhahn, 1994).
After a few years of minimal success with utilizing hypnotism in his
private practice, Freud returned to France in 1889 to study under
Hippolyte Bernheim. Bernheim was experimenting with posthypnotic
phenomena. Here, Freud realized two important pieces that would
eventually be incorporated into his theories (Hergenhahn, 1994). People
can have "repressed memories." While in a hypnotic state, people were
instructed by Bernheim to not remember certain details once they were
brought out of the trance. These tests were successful. They also discovered
that patients could remember that which was repressed if the hypnotist
insisted forcefully enough that they would remember. People have
unconscious motivations. Bernheim demonstrated the phenomena of
posthypnotic suggestion, in which instructions were implanted during a
hypnotic state. These instructions would be carried out without the subject
realizing that they had been directed to do so.
Freud's Clues to the Unconscious:
1. Free association
2. Hypnosis.
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3. Slips of the tongue.

4. Psychoanalysis-causing transference.
5. Dreams.
Freud believed that his lack of acceptance was due to his ideas
disappointing peoples lofty views of themselves. So Freud classified himself
with these great thinkers: 1. Galileo--"The earth is not the center of the
universe" 2. Darwin,--"Human beings are the biological cousins of the apes"
3. Freud,--"Human rationality and intelligence is caused and determined by
our biological structure, which is primarily sexually motivated."
In spite of my lukewarm appreciation for Sigmund Freud, I
acknowledge the important part he has played in the history of psychology.
SIGMUND FREUD BIBLIOGRAPHY:
George, R. L., and Christiani, T. S. Counseling: Theory and Practice.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice Hall 1990
Freud, S. Translated by J. Strach. 24 Volumes. Standard Edition of the
Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. London Hogarth Press.
1953-1974
Gay, P.. The Freud Reader. NY Norton. 1989
Hall, C. S. A Primer of Freudian Psychology. Cleveland OH. World Publishing.
1954
Kelly S. and Kelly, R. Hypnosis; Understanding How It Can Work For Your
Reading, MA. Addison Wesley. 1985
Pendergrast, M. Victims of Memory: Incest Accusations and Shattered Lives.
Hinesbury, VA. Upper Access, Inc. 1995
Young, R. Psychotherapy: Acceptance or Denial. London, England.
Cummings Books. 1990
Chapter 11: Carl Gustav Jung:
Carl Jung was born July 26, 1875, His father, Johann Paul Achilles
Jung (1842-96) was a clergyman in the Swiss Reformed Church and his
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mother, Emilie Preiswek Jung (1848-1923) was a daughter of the long-

established Basel family.
Carl Jung was a close associate of Sigmund Freud for several years. In
1910, Freud, with great feeling, urged, "My dear Jung, promise me never
to abandon the sexual theory. That is the most essential thing of all. You
see, we must make a dogma of it, an unshakable bulwark." "A bulwark
against what?" asked Jung in astonishment. Freud replied, "Against the
black tide of mud, the occultism" In commenting on this episode, Jung said,
"First of all it was the words 'bulwark' and 'dogma' that alarmed me; for a
dogma, that is to say, an undisputable confession of faith, is set up only
when the aim is to suppress doubts once and for all. But that no longer has
anything to do with scientific judgment; only with a personal power drive.
This was the only thing that struck me at the heart of our friendship. I
knew that I would never be able to accept such an attitude." [Hall and
Lindzey, Theories of Personality. p. xxiii]
Jung did not accept the assumption that the publication of his non-
Freudian work, Symbols of Transformation, was the cause of their break.
Jung went on to explain more deeply, "It was knowledge of Freud's triangle
(with his wife's younger sister) that became a very important factor in my
break with Freud. And then, I could not accept Freud's placing authority
above truth." (Hall and Lindzey, p. xx) As a results of these conflicts, Jung
split with Freud in 1913. After a brief illness, Carl Custov Jung died on
June 6, 1961 in Zurich at the age of 85.
Jung preferred his own approach of "analytical psychology" and wished
the term to stand for a general concept of embracing both the
"Psychoanalysis" of Freud and the "Individual Psychology" of Adler as well as
other efforts in this field. Jung's analytical attitude toward the personality
led him to explore in many areas the various concepts of personality. Jung
would not have one limit himself to just one theory but to use many
 170

different methods as stepping stones to greater insight in dealing with

people. In Psychological Reflections, (p. 4) he states, "Learn your theories as
well as you can, but put them aside when you touch the miracle of the living
soul. Not theories but your own creative individuality alone must decide. The
patient is there to be treated not to verify a theory. For that matter, there
is no single theory in the whole field of practical psychology that cannot on
occasion be proved to be basically wrong.” (Durbin: This is good advice, not
only to psychiatrist, but also to hypnotherapist. I have made it a practice to
learn as much from different approaches and to use from each that which I
think will be of benefit to the client.)
It should be noted here that the division of extrovert and introvert
was the result of Jung's work. The extrovert is the outgoing, sociable person
finding his interests in people and things outside himself. Psychic energy
flows outward and is directed toward people, events and things in the
external world. On the other hand, the introvert is shy and sensitive,
unsure of himself in company with others, different in interpersonal
relationships and is interested more in ideas than in people and things. For
the introvert, psychic energy flows inward and tends to be concentrated on
subjective factors and inner responses.
Jung proposed that there are four fundamental psychological
functions: "Thinking," "Feeling," "Intuition," and "Sensation." The personality
may use any one or more of these functions as the dominant characteristic
of communication with the world "Thinking" is intellectual and theoretical
as the individual makes an attempt to comprehend the nature of the world
and self. "Thinking" tells what a thing is, gives names, categories to things,
defines alternatives and reason objectively. "Feeling" is the function of
evaluating the things, whether positive or negative, with reference to the
subject. An individual is given his/her experience of pleasure and pain, of
anger, fear, sorrow, joy and love. Do not confuse with emotion. "Sensing"
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tells you what exists: detects the presence of things. It is the seeing, the
reality function, yielding concrete facts or representations of the world. It is
interested in facts and objects in the objective world. It focuses on the trees.
"Intuition" is discerning through unconscious processes and
repressed/suppressed content. It uses hunches, sees possibilities, sees around
corners and goes beyond facts. It focuses on the forest. Since complete
actualization of the self is impossible, the "Transcendent Function" represents
an ideal goal towards which the personality strives.
The principle contribution of Jung to the understanding of the nature
of man (when Jung uses the word "man" in this context, he is referring to
both male and female ) was the idea of the “collective unconscious.” This
part of the human psyche represents a storehouse of memories of the part
of both the individual and the human race. This collective unconscious also
represents the wisdom and self-knowledge at the deepest level. At this
point, I am interjecting my (Paul Durbin)own view of the place that the
collective unconscious plays in past-life regression. As I do not personally
believe in reincarnation, I do not use "past-life regression" in my practice
of hypnotherapy. I do acknowledge that many people have been helped by
the use of past-life regression. I do have an explanation for the source of
past-life regression that satisfies me. (I may add that if reincarnation is the
way God planed it, so be it. It is not my intention to engage in a theology
debate but express my own personal belief system.)
I interpret Carl Jung's "Collective Unconscious" as memory passed on
to us by our heritage and is held in our subconscious mind. Within a
person's subconscious mind is a history of his/her ancestors to include their
experiences and emotions. This may or may not be what Jung meant, but
it is my interpretation and Jung is not here to tell me that I am wrong. In
past-life regression, a person under hypnosis may relive an experience or
memory from one of his/her ancestors which is stored in the client's
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subconscious mind. I made this statement at a seminar and a man

challenged me by telling the story of a girl who was afraid of any animal
with fur. He said he regressed her to a past life where she was killed by a
bear at age three. He said that she had no ancestors so that disproved my
theory. I responded, "You are absolutely correct in stating that she had no
ancestors, but she had significant others; mother, father, other family
members, community members who may have been traumatized by the
event and so it would be a part of their memory whether or not they
actually experienced it." One could also have seen such an occurrence in a
movie, read about in a book or been told of such an event and being
frightened by the thought; locked it into their memory, even though no such
event occurred. I believe this is also true of age regression for this life
experience so be aware that all memories are not true memories.
Jung wrote in Modern Man in Search of A Soul (p.264), "Among all of
my patients in the second half of life, that is to say over thirty-five, there
has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a
religious outlook on life. It is safe to say that every one of them feel ill
because they have lost that which the living religions of every age have given
to their followers and not one of them has been really healed who did not
regain his religious outlook."
The actual achievements of analytical psychology can be arranged
under four headings confession, explanation, education, and transformation.
"Every stage in our psychic development has something final about it. When
we have experienced catharsis with its wholesale confusion we feel that we
have reached our goal at last; all has come out, all is known, every anxiety
has been lived through and every tear shed; now things will go as they
ought. After the work of explanation we are equally persuaded that we now
know how the neurosis arose. The earliest memories have been unearthed,
the deepest roots dup up...But then comes the period of education, which
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makes us realize that no confession and no amount of explaining will make

the ill-formed tree grow straight, but that it must be trained...before
normal adaptation can be attained. All three quite properly co-exist and
are salient aspects of one and the same problem. (Jung, Modern Man In
Search of His Soul, p.45)
JUNG’S USE OF HYPNOSIS: Notes From James Hall’s Hypnosis: A
Jungian Perspective:: In his autobiographical Memories, Dreams, Reflections,
Jung described how his initial success as a private practioner of psychiatry
came about as a results of working with a woman who had suffered 17
years with a “painful paralysis of the left leg.” When Jung suggested
hypnosis, the woman “fell into a profound trance - without any hypnosis at
all!” The patient continued in her own stream of dream-like associations for
half an hour. It required 10 minutes to get her out of trance and into a
more normal state. To Jung’s own surprise, she threw away her crutches
and loudly proclaimed that she was cured. Jung confessed that he had not
the slightest idea of what happened.
This is one of the experiences that led Jung to abandon hypnosis.
(Durbin: It is interesting that a successful healing with the use of hypnosis
lead Jung to abandon hypnosis.) The woman returned the next semester
with a new symptom, violent back pain, that had begun suddenly the very
day she saw an announcement in the newspaper that Jung was to resume a
series of lectures. At the very mention of hypnosis, she once more fell into a
spontaneous trance and gave up the new symptom as readily as she had
been “cured” of the first. In a more extended inquiry, Jung found that she
had a feeble-minded son and surmised that she had adopted Jung himself,
in a transference manner, or to symbolize what she had wished her son to
be. (Durbin: Where did he get that idea?) To Jung’s knowledge, no further
symptoms recurred after the back pain alleviated. He attributed this results
in part to his being willing to listen to the woman’s concern for herself and
 174

for her retarded son.

Ironically, it was this patient who spread the word of Jung’s
remarkable hypnotic abilities. Her recommendation was responsible for the
first private patients which came to him. At first Jung continued to employ
hypnosis in his private practice, but later abandoned the practice because he
felt himself to be “groping in the dark” and because “one never knows how
long an improvement or cure will last” [Hall p 10-11] (Durbin: Using this
argument, one would have to give up all therapy because “one never knows
how long an improvement or cure will last”)
In his correspondence with Dr. Loy, Jung confessed that “I myself
practiced hypnotic suggestion-therapy for a time with enthusiasm” but gave
it up partly because of “three dubious incidents. These consisted of (1) an
older peasant woman who, after hypnosis, thanked Jung for being “so
decent”; (Durbin: Could not this have occurred under any type of therapy?)
(2) a young woman with enuresis who came with her mother but began to
want to see Jung earlier than he suggested; (Durbin: Is this the only patient
of Jung to want an earlier appointment than the scheduled one.) and (3) a
65-year-old woman with a 17-year history of pain in a knee joint, who
was “cured” in only a half hour of a trance that occurred spontaneously.
(Durbin: Curing someone in a half hour is much to fast. WHY? )
The first case may have bothered Jung because the woman implied
that she had sexual fantasies about what might happen under hypnosis. The
second case suggested a positive, possibly erotic, transference mixed with an
attempt by the patient to control the timing of the therapy - a power
struggle in the transference. Perhaps the third case troubled Jung because
the symptoms of such long history had vanished so quickly suggesting
hysteria and the danger of recurrent and varying symptoms, the same
consideration that had troubled Freud. [Hall p 11-12] (Durbin: Similar
situations occur in all forms of therapy except maybe the rapid curing as
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found in the third example. In response to that situation, there are

examples of setbacks or recurrences of problems with any kind of therapy.)
CARL JUNG BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Campbell, J. Editor. The Portable Jung. NY. The Viking Press. 1971
Clineball, H. Basic Types of Pastoral Counseling. Nashville, TN. Abingdon
Press, 1966
Fromm, E. Psychology and Religion. NY. Bantam Books. (950
Hall, C. S., and Lindzey, Gardner. Theories of Personality. NY. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. 1970
Jung, C. G. Modern Man in Search of His Soul. NY. Harcourt, Brace and
World, Inc 1933
Jung, C. G. Psychological Reflections. NY. Pantheon Books, 1953
Sands, F.. Good Housekeeping. "Why I Believe in God" (Interview with Carl
Jung, 1961)
Chapter 12: Alfred Adler:
Dr. Alfred Adler and Viktor Frankl are two of my heros. My study of
these two giants in the field of psychiatry along with my faith in God helped
me to develop into whole human being. Before I began to study the works of
Adler and Frankl, I was outgoing, but inside had little self-worth. After
preparing classes on Adler and Frankl in 1973 to present to my Clinical
Pastoral Education fellow students, I began to change and developed a
strong knowledge of my own self-worth and that changed my life for the
better. I thank Adler for helping me overcome my inferiority complex,
Frankl for helping me find meaning in my life and to God for giving me the
grace to live life to the fullest.
In a letter, Hertha Orglis Thyra, wrote, "Dr. Adler was real, whether he was
joking or serious, whether in private discussion or in lectures, his real
personality always seemed to say: Life is holy, have reverence for life,
everything which happens is important,"
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In 1870, Alfred Adler was born in a suburb of Vienna. He was the

second of six children. In his youth, Adler suffered from rickets and could
not walk until he was four. He once said, "For me any sort of movement
was a strain and effort. [Shedon Selesnich,, p79] A short time after he was
able to walk, he developed a case of pneumonia. Because of his clumsiness,
he had several accidents which caused him embarrassment and pain. These
early experiences with illnesses and accidents probably accounts for his
theory of organ inferiority and finally of his concept of the inferiority
complex, Due to his many contacts with doctors as a child, Adler decided
that he wanted to grow up to be a doctor. As a boy, he spent a lot of time
reading the great classical writers, cultivating flowers and collecting pigeons.
In 1895, Adler received his medical degree from the University of
Vienna Medical School. Because of his expressive speaking ability; his knock
at quoting the Bible, Shakespeare, the Greek Tragedies, his understanding of
the history of psychology and of philosophy; he often was the center of
attention in groups. As a young man, Adler became a Christian. In 1897,
he married Raissa Timofeyeune Epstien. Of that marriage came four
children; a daughter, Alexandra, and a son, Kurt who became psychiatrists.
Weatherhead writes that Adler was never a student of Freud, never a
Freudian psychotherapist, for he was never analyzed himself. Adler was one
of Freud's greatest admirers and worked with him in close intimacy until a
split developed between the two, There is little doubt that Adler
contributed some of the ideas which Freud worked into his system.
[Weatherhead, p267]
After reading Adler's interpretation of his book on dreams. Freud
invited Adler to join his discussion circle, The Viennese Psychoanalytic
Society. Upon receiving Freud's assurance that many different views,
including Adler's own, would be discussed; Adler accepted the invitation.
Adler had never agreed with Freud's theory that early sexual trauma was
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the cause of most mental diseases and he consistently opposed Freud's view
of dream interpretation. The problems between Adler and Freud became
greater after Adler published his Study of Organ Inferiority and Its Psychical
Compensation, in 1907.
In 1910, Freud attempted to reconcile his differences with Adler by
naming Adler president of the Viennese Psychoanalytic Society and
co-editor with Stekel of the Zentralblatt Fur Psychoanalycis. These
measures were temporary for Adler found no pleasure being in Freud's
shadow. Adler felt that Freud ruled the society as an autocrat and behaved
as the typical, insecure, threatened eldest son; who must domineer
tyrannically in order to protect himself against "dethronement." This
probably reflected how Adler felt about his own older brother for he once
said, "My eldest brother was the only one with whom I did not get along
well..," Alfred felt that his mother, a simple, good-natured, self-sacrificing
woman showed her preference for the elder son. Alfred's father, a
sharp-witted grain merchant, highly respected in the community was more
to Adler's liking. As Alder saw Freud as the older brother, it is no wonder
that they had trouble. [Selesnick, Sheldon Psychoanalytic Pioneers, P 82-
83]
By 1911, Adler felt that he could no longer be associated with Freud
because he felt the discussion group was not open. He, with nine of the
thirty-five members, withdrew and formed the Society for Free
Psychoanalysis. Later the new society became known as the Society of
Individual Psychology. Adler considered each patient as a separate individual
in whom memories differ greatly. It was his opinion that no life-experience
can be viewed in isolation, but must always be regarded in relation to the
total personality. He wrote that individuals do not form unconscious
memories all around the same central motive; sexuality for instance. Every
person has a different need, an inferiority for which he seeks compensation.
 178

Individual Psychology begins and ends with the problem of inferiority.

Adler considered that Freud's focus on sex was overplayed and his theory of
the libido false. Adler believed that the sex instinct was important but not
as important as man's sense of inferiority. Someone said Adler destroy love
but Adler saw much more to love than sexuality. He dethroned sexuality
and the pleasure principle in order to make place for love and happiness.
During World War 1, Adler served as a doctor in the Austrian Army
Medical Corp. After the war, Vienna school officials asked him to organize
child guidance clinics, Adler felt that the education of children was essential
for the perpetuation of the social values of the community.
In 1926, Adler was appointed visiting Professor at Columbia
University in New York and later was visiting Professor of Medical
Psychology at Long Island College of Medicine. In 1935, Adler settled in the
United States where he continued his practice as a psychiatrist, professor,
and lecturer. He published over a hundred books and articles during his
lifetime, Although Adler had a bad heart, he traveled to Scotland to lecture.
Before he left the United States, he told a student, "We have been given
hearts not to keep them preserved as they are, but to wear them out while
going to lectures,“ He collapsed and died on a Scotland street in 1937.
In this chapter, I will discuss the following Adlerian concepts and
theories:
1. Inferiority feelings and compensation,
2. Striving for superiority,
3. Style of life,
4. Social interest,
5. Birth order ,
6. Fictional finalism,
7. Creative self,
8. Masculine protest,
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9. Interpretation of dreams and

10. Theory of psychotherapy.
Adler once said, “We do not flatter ourselves, we have not explored
the last and ultimate facts, nor have we voiced the last truth. All we have
attained cannot be more than part of the present knowledge and culture.
And we are looking forward to those who are coming after us.”
INFERIORITY FEELINGS AND COMPENSATION: Inferiority feelings
and compensation originated
from Adler's early studies of
organ inferiority and
compensation, In Adler's
book, Study of Organ
Inferiority and Its Psychical
Compensation, Adler
described the process of
compensation for physical
disabilities or limitations. The
behavior which results from
the compensation may be
satisfactory or unsatisfactory
depending on the attitude
the person adopted toward
his defects. Some people
overcome their defects and
excel in that area or another.
Others with similar problems
have sometimes used their
defect as an excuse to
present the fantasy that they
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would have gained prestige

had they not had the defect.

From his understanding of organ inferiority, Adler began to see each

individual as having a feeling of inferiority. Adler wrote, "to be a human
being means to feel oneself inferior." The child comes into the world as a
helpless little creature surrounded by powerful adults. A child is motivated
by his feelings of inferiority to strive for greater things. When he has
reached one level of development, he begins to feel inferior once more and
the striving for something better begins again which is the great driving
force of mankind. Every person has inferiority feeling whether or not he will
or can admit it.
There is a difference between “inferiority feelings” and “inferiority
complex.” Everyone begins life with feelings of “inferiority feelings,” which is
a normal feeling. “Inferiority feeling” can be compensated for properly by
changing the “inferiority feelings” into socially accepted ways. This builds
confidence and helps overcome the “inferiority feeling.” On the other hand,
“Inferiority Complexes” interferes with one’s adjustment to satisfying life.
The “superiority complex” is a coverup for an “inferiority complex.” They
are different sides of the same coin. People with a “superiority complex”
have to put down others in order to feel good about themselves.
Understanding feelings of inferiority, compensation, and striving for
superiority should be an asset in counseling your clients. Certainly one of the
biggest problems in our society is the inappropriate handling of feelings of
inferiority. It is our opportunity as therapist and counselors to help people
find ways to best use their feelings of inferiority to benefit themselves and
society.
STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY: The striving for superiority is innate
and carries the individual from one stage of life to the next, This striving
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can and does manifest itself in many different ways and each person has his
own way of attempting to achieve perfection. This idea progressed though
three stages: Adler first came to the conclusion that aggression was more
important than sexuality. The aggressive impulse was followed by the "will
to power", and finally "striving for superiority.” It is wrong to conclude that
striving for superiority is equated with "power", Adler described the striving
for power as the source of neurosis and crime and pointed out that it drives
people in useless directions. Power-lust is a mental disorder or disease.
Adler wrote, “I began to see clearly in every psychological phenomenon
the striving for superiority. It runs parallel to physical growth and is an
intrinsic necessity of life itself. It lies at the root of all solutions of life's
problems and is manifested in the way in which we meet these problems. All
our functions follow its direction, men strive for conquest, security, increase,
either in the right or in the wrong direction. The impetus from minus to
plus never ends. The urge from below to above never ceases. Whatever
premises all of our philosophers and psychologist dream of; self-preservation,
pleasure principle, equalization; all these are but vague representation
attempts to express the great upward drive.” [Hall, Calvin and Lindzey,
Gordon, Theories of Personality, p124]
All people wish to overcome the difficulties and problems of their life.
Each individual would like to reach a point in life when he can feel strong,
superior, and complete. Adler wrote, “We shall always find in human beings
this great line of activity; this struggle to rise from an inferior to a superior
position, from defeat to victory from below to above. It begins in earliest
childhood and continues to the end of our lives. As for the striving for
perfection, for superiority, or for power, some have always known about it,
but not thoroughly enough to spread this knowledge to a larger mass or to
illuminate the fundamental significance of this striving for the structure of
the entire personality. Individual Psychology pointed out that this striving
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for perfection is found in every individual.” [Ansbacher, H. and R. The

Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, p103]
The healthy individual will strive for superiority through his
involvement with society. He will have a concept of superiority which
includes the welfare of other as well as himself. On the other hand, the
neurotic is more concerned with self-esteem than he is with social interest.
He lives with a constant fear of loss of self-esteem. Although the structure of
the fear will vary in each individual, it can and will express itself in the need
to dominate, to refuse to cooperate, wanting to take and not to give, to be
aggressive in an anti-social manner, and other anti-social ways of behaving.
A Superiority Complex is a cover up for an Inferiority Complex. The
Superiority Complex is just the opposite side of the same coin of the
Inferiority Complex. A person with a Superiority Complex displays hidden
doubt about their own ability and seek to prove themselves by putting other
people down.
In regards to both the health and neurotic striving for superiority,
Adler wrote, “If an individual, in the meaning he gives to life, wishes to
make a contribution and if his emotions are all directed to this goal, he will
naturally be bound to bring himself into the best shape. He will begin to
equip himself to solve the three problems of life (“behavior toward others.”
“occupation” and “love.”) If we are working to ease and enrich our
partner's life, we shall make of ourselves the best that we can. If we think
that we must develop personality in a vacuum, without a goal of
contribution, we shall make ourselves domineering and unpleasant. The well
adjusted person does not strive for personal superiority but tries to solve his
problem in ways that will be useful to others as well as himself.” [Ansbacher,
H. p 104]
STYLE OF LIFE:"Style of life" is the slogan of Adler’s personality
theory, Though Adler’s theories on “inferiority” are better known, the most
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distinctive feature of his psychology is “style of life”. During the first few
years of life, each individual develops a style of life which determines his
behavior. Adler believed that if we know the goal of a person, we can
undertake to explain and to understand what the psychological phenomena
want to tell us why they were created, what a person has made of his
innate material, why he has made it just so and not differently, how his
character traits, his feelings and emotions, his logic, his morals and his
aesthetics must be constituted in order that he may arrive at his goal. If we
could determine the individual’s comprehended goal from the ornaments
and melodies of a human life and, develop his/her entire style of life, we
could classify a person with almost natural-science accuracy. We could
predict how a parson would act in a specific situation. If the style of life is
ineffective or destructive, the individual needs to and can with help change
his style of life. That is one of the purposes of counseling to help an
individual to change a defective style of life to one that is useful. The life
style of the individual is the key to his behavior. His major goal is superiority
and compensation for his feeling of inferiority, but he may achieve this goal
in a great variety of ways. The neurotic is using erroneous solutions to life's
problems.
Adler noted that all our thinking is goal-directed and forms an unified
style of life. Each person has a specific goal which is all his own and makes
him different from any other person. As he follows that goal he adapts early
in life a specific technique for attaining it. The child may feel that he is
helpless and that he can have life only by gaining the support of others.
Throughout life he will be unable to assert himself constructively, to take
direct initiative for his own destiny and develops an illness or handicap
which demands the care of others. As the illness develops, it becomes a
compensation for the individual's failure. He may then say, "If I had not this
illness, I could succeed as easily as anyone else. And indeed, achieve
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superiority over others at any point I desired." The style of life becomes
fixed for the individual must cling to his illness or the bluff of his claim to
superiority would be recognized. Therefore the illness must be convincing
enough, both to himself and others, to maintain the pretense. The patient is
not aware that his sickness is an excuse for non-fulfillment, substituted for
superiority, and that decisions which would mean facing life are postponed
for a more satisfying reason, namely illness. Adler wrote, "His chief
occupation is to look for other people to take his burden into account and...
he wins his way to privileged life, judged by more lenient standards than
others
Childhood experience which often predispose the child to faulty style of
life are children with inferiorities, spoiled children, and the neglected
children. These conditions often produce erroneous conceptions of the world
and results in a pathological negative style of life. Children with physical or
mental problems are likely to have a greater feeling of inferiority, than
others in meeting the task of life. Unless they make proper compensations
for their inferiority, they will be failures. Adler felt that pampering a child
was the greatest curse that could be visited upon a child. They are
potentially the most dangerous to society for they expect others to conform
to their self-centered wishes. Children who are neglected, badly treated or
abused in childhood often become enemies of society.
4 Basic Life Styles:
1. First Type: “The Well-Adjusted”: They do not strive for personal
superiority, but seeks to solve their problems in ways that are useful to
others as well as themselves.
2. Second Type: “The Superiority Type” (or so they think): They want to
prove their personal superiority by ruling others.
3. Third Type: “The Getting Type”. They want to get everything through
others without any effort or struggle of their own.
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4. Fourth Type: “The Avoiding Type”. They attempt to avoid every

decision.
Adler believed that the style of life comes from early experience. Unlike
Freud, the determinist, Adler wrote, “We do not suffer from the shock of
our experience, the so-called trauma, but we make out of them just what
suits our purpose. We are self-determined by the meaning we give our own
experience. We are masters of our actions. If something new must be done,
or something old replaced, no one can do it but ourselves. People can
change. The past is dead. The person is now free to be happy in the
present and the future and to bring happiness to others.”
Adler proposed that an almost radical change in character and
behavior can take place when an individual adopted new goals. Rev. Leslie
Whetherhead states that: “Adler's system is much closer to religion than
Freud's for Adler's ‘cure’ involved the patient, having seen how he is reacting
wrongly to life, changing his entire way of living by no longer looking for
ways of establishing prestige and superiority which leave the real problems of
life unsolved but serving the community, and in losing his life, finding it.”
[Whetherhead, p274-275]
SOCIAL INTEREST: Gardner Murphy in his Historical Introduction to
Modern Psychology wrote, "Adler's was the first psychological system in the
history of psychology that was developed in what we should today call a
social-science direction." Adler, who was an advocate of social justice and a
supporter of social democracy, enlarged his impression of man to include the
factor of social interest. Adler wrote, "Social interest is the true and
inevitable compensation for the natural weakness of individual human
beings." Social interest is inborn but that inborn quality is brought to its
fulness by guidance and training. Adler put it this way "Social interest is
innate, just as the striving for overcoming is innate, with the important
difference, however, that the social interest must be developed, and that it
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can be developed only when the child is already in the midst of life. At the
present stage of man’s psychological and possible, also physical development,
we must consider the innate substratum of the social interest as too small,
as not strong enough, to become effective or to develop without the benefit
of social understanding, This is in contrast to abilities and functions which
succeed almost all on their own, such as breathing." [H.L & R. R. Ansbacher
The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, p.134]
When a child comes into the world, he is completely dependant and
must depend on others to take care of him. A person’s style of life cannot be
understood without considering the people with whom he comes in contact.
Relationship with mother, father, other family members and society affects
an individual in his choice of a style of life. In order to understand the
individual, it is necessary to consider his attitude toward his fellow man.
Adler emphasized that the demands made on man by communal life are
easily just as self evident as the demands of climate, the demands of
protection against cold, and of building houses. If the conditions of life are
determined in the first instance by cosmic influences, they are in the second
instance determined socially. They are determined by the fact that people
live together and by the rules and regularities which spontaneously arise in
consequence of this. The demands of society have regulated human relations
which had existed from the beginning. Before the individual life of man there
was the community. Never has man appeared otherwise than in society.
In Adler’s mind, the only solution for society is the salvation of
inferiority feelings. Salvation from the continuously driving inferiority feeling
is the knowledge and the feeling of being valuable which originate from the
contribution to the common welfare. In the same way, it is the individual's
contribution to the welfare of humankind through his children and his work
which promises him the claim on immorality.
As one contributes to the common welfare, he comes to have a feeling
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of worth and value and begins to feel at home in life. In life, he is useful to
others as he overcomes his feelings of inferiority. When one has a proper
social interest, life is allowed to run its course as though one was at home.
He is and wants to be the master of his fate with an effective regard for the
welfare of others.
The normal person with a well-developed social interest will adopt a
useful style of life by contributing to the common welfare and thus
overcoming his feelings of inferiority. On the other hand, the impaired
individual is characterized by his inferiority feelings, underdeveloped social
interest and in uncooperative goals of superiority. The impaired solves his
problems in a self-centered, private-sense rather than a task-centered,
common-sense fashion. In regards to the person who spends much time in
support of public causes, but has little concern for the individual, Adler
wrote, "It is easier to embrace the world than a single human being." I heard
someone say of a famous man who he knew very well, “He loved everybody
so much that he did not love anyone very much.” As one learns to
contribute to the common welfare, he comes to have a feeling of worth and
value and begins to feel at home in life. Social interest enhances one's
intelligence, heightens his self-esteem, and enables him to adjust to
unexpected misfortune. Social interest gives meaning and purpose to life.
Helene Papanek sums up Adler's theory of social interest with this
statement, ''Adler also pointed out that increased social feeling enhances
man's intelligence, heightens his self-esteem, and enables him to adjust to
misfortunes. When the individual experiences himself not in helpless and
frightening isolation but as a useful and contributing member of the
community, he shares with others common ethical and esthetic standards
and ideals."
Children should be accustomed at an early age to pay attention to
rules and to be considerate of others. They should not be allowed to gratify
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every single impulse, for then the child will expect others to always meet its
needs. How can one expect a child that has never learned to control itself
to be considerate later of others?
BIRTH ORDER: Adler believed that the order of birth was an
important determiner of personality. In spite of their common heritage
siblings are usually very different from one another. It is not so much the
child's position in the successive births which influence his character, but the
situation into which he is born and the way which he interprets it. For
instance: If a family has two or three children who are relatively close to one
another and then several years another group of two or more children are
born, the oldest of the second group may act like a first born and the others
following are prone to take the characteristics of second born, third born,
etc.. . Adler believed that a spoiled child seeks to be the center of attention.
The hated child adopts the goal of escaping to a safe distance from others.
The eldest child adopts the attitude of keeping what is his, the second child
seeks to surpass, and the only child assumes that others will serve and he
rules.
The first born child is given a great deal of attention until the second
child is born and then the first is dethroned from his favored position. This
dethroning experience may affect the child in a number of ways; such as
hating people or protecting himself against reversals. It may cause him to
be conservative and insecure or it may cause him to develop a striving to
protect others and be a helper. "If the parents have allowed the first-born
to feel sure of their affection, if he know that his position is secure, and,
above all, if he is prepared for the arrival of a younger child and has been
trained to cooperate in its care, the crisis will pass without ill effects."
The second child is in a different situation for he shares attention with
another child and is therefore a little more likely to cooperate than the
oldest child. He has a child older that he is and who is ahead of him so he
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strives to catch up. Adler used the Biblical account of Jacob and Esau as an
example of the second child's striving to surpass the older sibling, The
second child may continue his exaggerated struggle for equality with others
who have come to replace his older sibling. On the other hand, his
ambitiousness may result in worthwhile achievement.
All other children may be dethroned but never the youngest who is
always the baby of the family and is often spoiled in the process. As he has
no followers but many pacemakers, he may strive to overcome them all.
Because he may be spoiled, youngest is second only to the oldest as a
problem child and as a neurotic adult.
The only child has problems of his own for the mother often pampers
him. She is afraid of losing him so will spoil him as a result of her
overprotectiveness. As he has no siblings, his feelings of competition are
often directed against his father. In later years when he no longer is the
center of attention, he may have difficulties,
Adler felt that the oldest child would most likely become a problem
child and a neurotic maladjusted adult with the youngest following closely
behind, Generally speaking the second child is by and large better adjusted
than either his older or younger sibling,
FICTIONAL FINALISM: Adler was influenced by the philosopher Hans
Vaihinger whose book The Psychology of the "as if" was published in 1911.
In this book, Vaihinger proposed that people live by many fictional ideas
which have no relations to reality. Adler took this idea and came to the
conclusion that man is motivated more by his expectations and perception of
things than in the reality.
Adler stated that the final goal alone can explain person's behavior.
Experiences, even traumatic experiences, and sexual development cannot
yield an explanation, but how the individual perceives them, which
subordinates all life to the final goal, can do so, The goal may be fictional,
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but it nevertheless affects how the individual behaves.

There are five points to Adler's understanding of the fictional finalism:
1. The fictional final goal became for Adler the principle of internal,
subjective causation of psychological events
2. The goal represented a creation of the individual and was largely
unconscious
3. It also became the principle of unity and self-consistency of the
personality structure
4. As the basis for orientation in the world
5. As one aspect of compensation for felt inferiorities. The final goal
emerges for everyone. Consciously or unconsciously, but its significant is
never understood by the individual himself.
Adler's Fictional Finalism is an interesting idea for hypnotherapists.
Fictional Finalism simply states that people act as much from the "as if" as
from reality. One of my understandings of the subconscious mind is that
whatever the subconscious mind accepts as true, it acts "as if" it is true
whether it is or not. When one imagines tasting a lemon, his mouth waters
and often he tastes the lemon "as if" there really was a lemon to lick.
THE CREATIVE SELF: The central meaning of the "creative self" is that
man makes his own personality. He builds his personality out of heredity
and experience. Adler wrote, "Heredity only endows him with certain
abilities. Environment only gives him certain impressions, These abilities
and impressions and the manner in which he experiences them; that is to
say, the interpretation he makes of these experiences are the bricks, or in
other words his attitude toward life, which determines this relationship to
the outside world."
Adler would not allow a patient to escape with the idea that his
heredity determined his behavior. The individual chooses the style of life he
lives. The creative self takes account of his talents and experiences and come
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up with a "style of life". This creative self may make him a normal human
being or a neurotic, but it is the individual's decision. Adler restored to man
a sense of dignity and worth that psychoanalysis had largely destroyed.
Adler's idea of the nature of personality coincided with ideas that man can
be the masters, rather than the victims, of his fate."
Adler wrote, “Every individual represents both a unity of personality
and the individual fashioning of that unity. The individual is thus both the
picture and the artist. He is the artist of his own personality, but as an
artist he is neither an infallible worker nor a person with a complete
understanding of mind and body; he is rather a weak, extremely fallible,
and imperfect human being.” [Ansbacher, H. p90]
It is evident that a human being development is not influenced by
facts, but by the opinion he has of these facts.
THE MASCULINE PROTEST: Adler came up with his "masculine
protest” as an answer to Freud's sexual theories. Adler proposed that
sexuality be considered in its symbolic sense. Considering that Adler’s theory
was developed in the early part of the twenty century, it is amazingly close
to the complaints that women of the last forty years have claimed in
regards to sexual discrimination. Adler states that woman do not feel
cheated because she does not have a penis but because she envies the
preeminence of men in contemporary society, The female resents the penis
only as a symbol of the over exalted position of men in our culture. Adler
states, "The masculine protest permeates boys and girls to such a frightful
degree that we are, from the very first, forced to assume that this attitude
came to the front to counterbalance the non-pleasurable sensation of not
being masculine.”
The woman may renounce her femininity and wish to become a man.
If so, they often suffer from neurotically painful menses, painful intercourse,
or even homosexuality. Men who try to become excessively masculine by
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being overactive in manly pursuits, presenting themselves as a picture of the

romantic masculine lover such as Don Juan, are not reacting to anxiety over
fear of, but are overcompensating for their feelings of inadequacy as men.
The Oedipal situation is not a striving of the boy to have sexual relations
with the mother, but as a symbolic battle to gain superiority over the father
and dominance over the mother.
Adler states that almost every psychiatrist has addressed the problem
of human hermaphroditism both to the physical characteristics of the
opposite sex and to the psychological attributes. Each individual has
masculine and feminine characteristics. In regards to psychological
hermaphroditism and the neurotic, Adler wrote that all neurotics have a
childhood behind them in which they were moved by doubt regarding the
achievement of full masculinity. The renunciation of masculinity, however
appear to the child as synonymous with femininity, an opinion which holds
not only for the child, but also for the greater part of our culture. Thus a
wide area of originally childish value judgments is given. Accordingly, any
form of uninhibited aggression, activity, potency, power, and the traits of
being brave, free, aggressive, or sadistic can be considered as masculine. All
inhibitions and deficiencies, as well as cowardliness, obedience, poverty, and
similar traits, can be considered as feminine.
It may be pointed that Adler did not consider women inferior. These
terms were symbolic. He brought this out in writings and lectures. He
wrote that all those who look down on women as a sex object incur certain
punishment because they develop an attitude which is in contradiction to the
truth and reality.
THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS:: Like Freud, Adler believed that
a patient's dreams were sign post of immense importance. Unlike Freud, he
saw dreams as situations revolving around the patient’s striving for
superiority and not as sexual repression. To Adler, dreams were clues to the
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patient’s life style. This was true whether or not the person dreamed the
dream or made it up in order to have a dream to report to the therapist.
"His made-up dreams are just as good as those he genuinely remembers for
his imagination and fancy will also be an expression of his style of life,"
Dreams show the patients fears, the obstacles in his way to superiority, and
the steps he is contemplating to overcome or avoid them. Adler found their
main function consisted of simplified early trials, of warnings and
encouragements favorable to the life-plan, and they have as their object the
solution of some future problem. We dream in the way that we would like
to behave. Dreams are an emotional rehearsal of plans and attitudes for
waking behavior; a rehearsal, however, in which the actual play may never
come off.
Adler indicated that the well-adjusted courageous person rarely
dreams. The dreamer feels inadequate to solve his problems while awake so
the subconscious causes dream in an effort to help the person overcome his
problems, albeit often symbolically (Durbin- It is my conviction that well-
adjusted people dream on an average as much as others. The types of
dreams may be different, but they do dream.) On the other hand, the
mentally deficient usually do not dream for dreams represent the results of
a creative, imaginative struggle to overcome conflict, of which the mentally
deficient are not capable. (Durbin- I have difficulty accepting this statement
because I believe that all people dream, whether they remember them or
not.) He also pointed out that a patient may not dream for awhile at the
beginning of psychotherapy. This may suggest that the patient is probably
dreaming but forgets his dreams because he hesitates to cooperate with the
therapist, A dream is the creation of the life style, it cannot be attached,
but must always be considered in connection with the dreams and the
situation in which he was at the time of the dream.
Adler showed how some dreams can be interpreted by studying the
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movements and directions expressed in them. Dreams of falling occur to

people who are afraid of losing prestige after having achieved a certain
standing. On the other hand, dreams of flying may occur to ambitious
people who strive for superiority but who are afraid that they may not
achieve it. Dreams about dead people suggest that the dreamer is still
closely attached to a deceased person. Dreams of missing a train, bus, or
airplane indicates fear of losing opportunities but may also denote a
tendency to avoid exposing one self to the possibility of defeat by coming
late. Dreams of examination indicates an exaggerated fear of being put to
the test. Dreams of being improperly clothed is found to spring from a fear
that imperfections may be discovered. The style of life is expressed with
great clarity in recurrent dreams. They give us a definite and unmistakable
indication as to the individual's goal of superiority, A repeated dream is a
repeated answer to a repeatedly confronting problem. The style of life is
best shown by dreams.
THEORY OF PERSONALITY: Adlerians believe that no one is forced to
continue all his life in one direction, no matter what that direction is. As
soon as he realizes his error he can change his style of life and face life’s
problem in a healthy way. Adlerian therapists attempt to help the patient
in this process from wrong to acceptable responses to life.
Adlerian Theory departed from Freud's method of having the patient
recline on the couch while the therapist sits behind him. Adler preferred to
face the patient and engage in free discussion not free association. Sessions
were fewer per week and the duration of counseling was comparatively
shorter for Adlerians as compared to Freudian therapists.
For Adlerian, there are four phases of counseling.
1. The relationship
2. The investigation of the dynamics
3. Interpretations to the client
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4. Reorientation
The relationship with the patient which the Adlerian therapist seeks to
establish is one of friendliness and cooperation. Adler places a high value on
the social relationship between the therapist and the patient. He believed
that this relationship could serve as a reeducation bridge to other
relationships. He felt that all people who fail are deficient in concern and
love for their fellow human beings and he spent a lot of time in an attempt
to help them develop a social interest. Adlerian concept of cooperation
follows as the therapist sets an example of love, concern and friendliness.
For many patient, this may be their first good human relationship. In
counseling, Adler projected a quiet concern for his clients. One felt his inner
warmth and interest so strong that there was normally immediate rapport
between him and the patient.
The investigation explores the current life situation as it is viewed by
the patient to include his complaints, problems, and symptoms. The
functioning of the individual in the three major areas of life; work, social,
and sex; are investigated and discussed. The patient’s early life, position in
the birth order and his relationships to siblings and parents are discussed.
The following questions are often repeated, "And why do you feel like that
about it?" “What do you think is the reason of your reacting in this way?"
“What purpose does your illness serve?" and other similar questions.
Gradually the patient realizes his neurotic reactions to life and what put him
in a position to substitute a wise for a foolish reaction, a courageous for a
cowardly one, a normal for a hysterical one.
The interpretation puts an emphasis on the goals or style of life of the
patient. The therapist has the patient look at his feelings and the purpose
for his feelings. The patient will not be told what to do but will be shown
how he is living out his style of life and what it cost him to do so. The
mirror technique is used whereby the individual looks at himself. Using the
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mirror technique, the patient is told to image that he is looking at his

reflection in a mirror and can discuss his/her problems and see him/herself
in a different way. This technique can be used very effectively with
hypnotherapy.
In the reorientation stage, the patient is encouraged to drop the old
style of life and take up a new style of life. The new style of life helps him to
deal with the realities of life and receives satisfaction from living. The
Adlerian uses encouragement extensively in their therapy. The purpose of
this encouragement is to help the patient make the transfer from a style of
life that is neurotic to one that is healthy. Encouragement is given with the
understanding that the patient must gain for himself the attitude toward
life which will allow him to approach and overcome his problem in a realistic
manner. To be healthy, the patient must learn to handle his problems with
common sense and social interest. A therapist using Adlerian psychology
ought to be optimistic, cheerful, tolerant, active and have empathy. Patients
should find the therapist to be a dependable and benevolent human-being .
There are three entrances to the mental life.
1. Positions of child in relation to siblings.
2. First childhood memories.
3. Dreams.
Characteristics of Adlerian counseling:
1. Empathy and Relationship Stage: Establishing an empathic, cooperative,
working relationship, offering hope, reassurance, and encouragement.
2. Information Stage: Gathering of relevant information. Details of
presenting problem and overview of general functioning. Exploration of early
childhood situation, memories, and dreams.
3. Clarification Stage: Clarifying thinking with questioning. Evaluating
consequences of ideas and behavior. Correcting mistaken ideas about self and
others.
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4. Encouragement Stage: Encouraging one to think and behave differently

and to move in a new direction, away from the old life style. Clarifying
feelings about effort and results.
5. Interpretation and Recognition Stage: Interpreting inferiority feelings,
style of life, and fictional final goal of superiority. Identifying what has been
avoided in development. Integrating birth order, earliest recollections, and
dreams.
6. Knowing Stage: Reinforcing client's self-awareness of life style and
feelings about new successes. Client knows what needs to be done but may
feel blocked.
7. Emotional Breakthrough Stage: When needed, promoting emotional
breakthroughs to correct past or present negative influences. Use of
role-playing, guided imagery, and group dynamics.
8. Doing Differently Stage: Converting insight into a different attitude.
Experimenting with concrete actions based on abstract ideas. Comparing
new and old behavior.
9. Reinforcement Stage: Encouraging new movement toward significant
change. Affirming positive results and feelings. Evaluating progress and new
courage.
10. Social Interest Stage: Using client's better feelings to extend cooperation
and caring about other people. Learning to give generously of oneself and to
take necessary risks. Awakening feeling of equality.
11. Goal Redirection Stage: Challenging client to let go of old self and the
old fictional goal. Dissolving the old style of life and adopting new values.
Discovering a new psychological horizon.
12. Support and Launching Stage: Launching client into a new, creative,
gratifying way of living for self and others. Learning to love the struggle.
Promoting a path of continual growth for self and others. (Developed by
Henry Stein, Ph.D. of the Alfred Adler Institute of San Francisco.)
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The Encyclopedia Britannica sums up Adlerian therapy this way,

"Therapy consist of providing the patient with insight into his mistaken life
style through material furnished by him in the psychiatric interview. The
life style can be diagnosed from all verbal and bodily expressions, the
individual speaking with his entire body ("organ dialect") as will as with as
his tongue. Particularly useful are dreams and early recollections as
thumb-nail sketches of the patients opinion of himself and the world. Social
interest is strengthened and inferiority feelings are reduced by
encouragement and by an atmosphere of relaxed equality between patient
and therapist.”
Adler compares the neurotic with a person who is caught in a dark
room and cannot find the exit. Adlerian Psychology illuminates the room so
that he can see the way out and encourages him to go into the real world; a
world in which there are defects too, a world in which other people are of
equal value and have the same right to live, in which one cannot live without
giving as well as taking, in which one works with others, suffers with and
loves others. Cure is not just in absence of symptoms, but in tackling life’s
problem and assuming responsibility for himself.
In summary, Adler disagreed with the sexual etiology of neuroses. He
believed that individuals were motivated by social responsibility and the need
to achievement, not driven by the inborn instincts. Adler felt that humans
were motivated by social, interpersonal factors. He saw people as having
control over their lives as each individual develops a unique lifestyle. Adler's
emphasis is individuals assuming responsibility for their life decisions. Adler's
most useful contribution was his observation of the birth order. The concept
of family constellation has to do with the child's interactions with and
perceptions of the family group. Adler associated characteristics with
position in birth order.
Adler’s contributions:
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1. The Adlerian view of human nature is essentially positive.

2. The relationship between the counselor and the client is valued.
3. The concept of birth order is useful and has stood the test of time.
4. Adlerian theory is used by parent-education groups.
5. The concept of natural consequences has influenced child-rearing
practices.
ADLER AND HYPNOSIS: Adler had very little to say about hypnosis.
He was correct when he stated that a person would not go into the hypnotic
state unless he chose to do so. He was wrong when he believed that once in
the hypnotic state, the subject gave up control to the hypnotist and
therefore was under the control of the hypnotist.
ALFRED ADLER BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Adler, A. Individual Psychology, Totowa, NJ. Littlefield and Adams, 1969
Adler, A. Problems of Neurosis, NY, Harper Tourchbook,1964
Adler, A. Social Interest, NY, Capricorn Book, 1964
Adler, A. Superiority and Social Interest, NY, Viking Compass Book, 1973
Adler, Alfred, The Neurotic Constitution, Good, Mead, & Co., 1930
Adler, A. Understanding Human Nature, Greenwich, CT, Faucet, 1954
Ansbacher, H. and R. The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, NY, Basic
Books, 1956
Dinkmeyer, Don, “Adlerian Theory and Practice" Conceptual Foundations of
Counseling,
Dreikus, R. Fundamentals of Adlerian Psychology, Chicago. IL, Alfred Adler
Institute, 1953
Encyclopedia Britannica Vol 1, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., N.Y., 1957.
Harper, Robert; Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
1959.
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol 1, \MY MacMillan Co.
1968.
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Mosak, H. Alfred Adler: His Influence On Psychology Today, Park Ridge, NJ,
Noyer Press. 1973 Munroe, Ruth; Schools of Psychoanalytical Thought, Y
Dryden Press, 1955
Manaster, Painter, Deutch & Overbold. Alfred Adler: As We Remember Him
NASAP. 1977:
Orgler, B. Alfred Adler: The Man and His Work. NY, A Mentor Book, 1956
Papanek, Helene; Current Theories of Personality and Psychopathology.
Sclesnich, Sheldon; Psychoanalytic Pioneers, (Editors-Alexander, Eisenstein,
& Groth), NY, Basic Books, 1966
Chapter 13: Viktor Frankl:
Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria on March 26, 1905. His
father, Gabriel Frankl, worked his way from government stenographer to
become the director of the Ministry of Social Service. His mother, Elsa (Lion)
Frankl, was a pious, tenderhearted woman from Prague. Viktor was the
middle of three children. In 1930, Frankl graduated from University of
Vienna Medical School and by 1940, he was Director of the Neurological
Department at Rothschild Hospital. Viktor Frankl taught at the University
of Vienna Medical School and later at several schools in the United States.
He died in September 1997 in Vienna.
In an interview with Dr. Robert Schuler, Dr. Frankl told this story
about his decision to stay in Europe when he had an opportunity to come to
America in the early 40's. The situation in his homeland was becoming more
and more difficult for those of the Jewish race. The local Jewish Synagogue
had been bombed and left in ruins by the Nazis. Dr. Frankl was offered an
opportunity to go to America. As the synagogue was destroyed, he went to
a nearby Christian Church. He prayed that God would give him some
direction as to what he should do. He wanted to know if he should go to
America or stay with his family. Though he earnestly prayed, no answer
came. He left the Church feeling that God had ignored him.
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On the way home, he came to the destroyed Synagogue. He stopped

for a few moment and picked up a piece of wood to take home as a
keepsake for his father. When he arrived home, he examined the piece of
wood more closely. As he read the inscription on the piece of wood, he
realized that indeed God had heard his prayer and had answered him. The
inscription on the piece wood read, "Honor your father and mother." He
stayed in Europe and eventually ended up a prisoner of the Nazis.
If Frankl had not gone to that Church, stopped at that destroyed
Synagogue, picked up that piece of wood and carried it home and read
what was inscribed on it; would we have ever heard of Viktor Frankl?
Maybe! Would he have had the impact on the second half of the Twenty
Century that he had. I doubt it! He did go by that Church, stopped at the
destroyed Synagogue, picked up that piece of wood, carried it home, read it
and became one of the great contributors to psychology, life and meaning in
the Twenty Century.
Frankl's first book in English was Man's Search For Meaning which he
wrote while in a Nazi prison camp during World War II. During those years,
he experienced incredible suffering and degradation but further developed
his theory of Logotherapy. "Logos" is the Greek work for "Meaning."
Logotherapy focuses on the meaning of human existence and man's search
for meaning. According to Frankl, the striving to find meaning in one's life
is the primary motivational force in man. In using the term, "man," Frankl
is referring to the "Human Race": male and female.
Frankl spoke of a "will to meaning" in contrast to the Freudian
psychoanalysis "will to pleasure" or "striving for superiority" as stressed by
Adlerian psychology. Man does not have to endure a meaninglessness of life
as some existential philosophers teach or face life with a pessimistic outlook
as other existential philosophers would indicate. Frankl sees man as a whole
being that includes body, mind, and spirit. All three are interwoven so that
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each affects the other. He uses the example of looking at a drinking glass.
To look at it from the side, it looks like a drinking glass. To look at the
glass from above, it looks like a circle. To look at the shadow of the glass, it
looks like a shaded oblong object.
Logotherapy does not only recognizes man's spirit, but actually starts
with it. It must be kept remember in mind, however, that within the
framework of Logotherapy "spiritual" does not have a religious connotation
but refers to the specifically human dimensions. In this connection, "Logos"
is intended to signify "the spiritual" and beyond that, "the meaning of life”.
I would like to point out that Frankl was very friendly toward religion and
did not hesitate to use it if his patient were inclined toward religion. Frankl
once said, "Man is not only often much more immoral than he believes, but
also often much more moral than he thinks and is often much more religious
than he suspects.” Frankl saw more in man's morality than an interjected
father-image and more in his religion than a projected father-image.
Frankl says, "To consider religion a general obsessional neurosis of humanity
is already old-fashioned." He stated that we must not make the mistake of
looking upon religion as something emerging from the realm of the id, thus
tracing it back again to instinctual drives.
Even the followers of Jung have not avoided this error. They reduce
religion to the collective unconscious or to archetypes. Frankl was once
asked after a lecture whether he did not admit that there were such things
as religious archetypes. He was asked "Was it not remarkable that all
primitive people ultimately reached a similar concept of God, which seems to
point to a god-archetype?" Frankl asks his questioner whether there was
such a thing as a four-archetype. The man did not understand immediately
and so Frankl said, "Look here, all people discovered independently that two
and two make four. Perhaps we do not need a four-archetype for an
explanation; perhaps two and two really do make four. Perhaps we do not
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need a divine archetype to explain human religion either. Perhaps God

really does exist."
Though Logotherapy does not focus on helping the patients regain his
belief in God but time and again this is just what occurs; unintended and
unexpected as it is. Frankl stated, "It is the business of existential analysis
(Logotherapy) to furnish and to adorn as far as possible the chamber of
immanence, while being careful not to block the door to transcendence."
The Logotherapist has an "open-door policy." Through this door that is left
ajar, the religious person can go out unhindered. Conversely the spirit of
true religious feelings has free entrance. For the spirit of true religious
feelings requires spontaneity. The fact that a person's faith is quite often
renewed during Logotherapy is based upon the fundamental assumptions of
Logotherapy.
Logotherapy forms a chain of interconnected links:
(1) Freedom of will
(2) Will to meaning
(3) Meaning of life
1. FREEDOM OF WILL: Frankl said that there are two classes of
people who maintain that man's will is not free: Schizophrenic patients
(suffering from delusions that their will is manipulated and their thoughts
controlled by others) and deterministic philosophers. Under deterministic
philosophers, he includes philosophers, psychologist, theologians, and others
who hold to a deterministic view of human beings. The later often admit
that we are experiencing our will as free, but this, they say, is self deception.
Psychoanalysis has often been blamed for its so-called pan-sexualism.
Frankl states that there is an aspect of psychoanalysis that is even more
erroneous and dangerous which is pan-determinism. By that Frankl means
the view of man that disregards his capacity to take a stand toward any
conditions whatsoever. Man is not fully conditioned or determined; he
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determines himself whether to give in to conditions or stand up to them. In

other words, man is ultimately self-determining. Man does not simply exist,
but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the
minute. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change
at any instant.
Man is influenced by the biological, psychological or sociological. Yet
one of the main features of human existence is the capacity to rise above
such conditions and transcend them. In the same manner, man ultimately
transcends himself: a human being is a self-transcending being. In
relationship to the predictability of an individual, Frankl relates the story of
Dr. J. Dr. J. was what Frankl would call a satanic figure, who was known
as the "mass murderer of Steinhof." When the Nazis started their
euthanasia program, he held all the strings in his hands and made fantastic
efforts to see that not one single psychotic individual escaped the gas
chamber.
After the war, a patient asked Frankl if he knew Dr. J. After
Frankl's affirmative reply, he continued, "I made his acquaintance in
Ljubljanka, a Russian prison camp. Dr. J. had been captured by the
Russians and was in that prison camp. There he died of cancer of the
bladder. Before he died, however, he showed himself to be the best comrade
you can image. He gave consolation to everybody. He lived up to the highest
conceivable moral standard. He was the best friend I ever met during my
long years in prison."
Frankl said that the freedom of a finite being such as man is freedom
within limits. Man is not free from conditions, be they biological or
psychological or sociological in nature. Man always remains free to take a
stand toward these conditions: he always retains the freedom to choose his
attitude toward them. Man is free to rise above the plane of somatic
(physical) and psychic (mental/emotional) determinants of his existence. By
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the same token a new dimension is opened. Man enters the dimension of
the noetic (spiritual), in counter-distinction to the somatic and psychic
phenomena. He becomes capable of taking a stand not only toward the
world but also toward himself. He can be his own judge and the judge of his
own deeds. In short, the specifically human phenomena linked with one
another, self-consciousness and conscious, would not be understandable
unless we interpret man in terms of being capable of detaching himself from
himself, learning the "plane" of biological and psychological, passing into the
"space" of the noological. Noological is the specifically human dimension that
is not accessible to animals.
Humans are ultimately self-determining. What he becomes - within
limits of endowment and environment, he has made of himself. Frankl
writes, "In the concentration camps, for example, in this living laboratory
and on this testing ground, we watched and witnessed some of our
comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both
potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but
not on condition. Our generation has come to know man as he really is.
After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz, he
is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's
Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips."
2. WILL TO MEANING: For Frankl, the Will to Meaning is the basic
striving of man to find and fulfill meaning and purpose in life. In contrast
to animals which are not open to the world (welt) but are bound to an
environment (unwelt) which is specific to their species, man is open to the
world. Man is reaching out for the world; a world, which is replete with
other beings to encounter and meanings to fulfill. Such a view is profoundly
opposed to those motivational theories based on the homeostasis principle.
Those theories depict man as if he were a closed system. According to
them, man is basically concerned with maintaining or restoring equilibrium
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and to this end with the reduction of tensions. Homeostasis principles also
assume that man is driven by the goal of gratification of drives and
satisfaction of needs. Frankl believes there is more to man's quest than those
put forth by homeostasis principles so quotes Charlotte Buhler, who said,
"Man is living with intentionality, which means living with purpose. The
purpose is to give meaning to life...the individual...wants to create values...the
human being has a primary or native orientation in the directions of
creating and of values."
Thus the homeostasis principle does not yield a sufficient ground on
which to explain human behavior, particularly such human phenomena as
the creativity of man oriented towards values and meaning. It was Frankl's
contention that the pleasure principle is self-defeating. The more one aims
at pleasure, the more his aim is missed. The very "pursuit of happiness" is
what thwarts it and this self-defeating quality of pleasure-seeking accounts
for many sexual neuroses. Time and again therapists are in a position to
witness how both orgasm and potency are impaired by being made either
the target or intention. Pleasure is missed when it is the goal and attained
when it is the side effect of attaining a goal. Attaining the goal constitutes a
reason for being happy. If there is a reason for happiness, happiness comes:
automatically and spontaneously. Only if one's original concern with
meaning is frustrated is one either content with power or intent on
pleasure. Both happiness and success are mere substitutes for fulfillment
and that is why the pleasure principle and striving for superiority are mere
derivatives of the will to meaning.
Self-actualization is not man's ultimate destination. It is not even his
primary intention. Self-actualization, if made an end in itself, contradicts
the self-transcendent quality of human existence. Like happiness, self-
actualization is an effect, the effect of meaning fulfillment. Frankl says that
the "business of self-actualization" can best be carried out "via a
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commitment to an important job." The important thing is not pleasure and

happiness as such but for that which causes these effects, be it fulfillment of
a personal meaning or the encounter with another human being.
What goes on in man when he is oriented toward meaning is revealed
in the fundamental difference between being driven to something on the one
hand and striving for something on the other. Man is pushed by drives but
pulled by meaning and this implies that it is always up to him to decide
whether or not he wishes to fulfill the later. Meaning fulfillment always
implies decision-making, thus a will to meaning rather than a drive to
meaning.
Contrary to the homeostasis theory, tension is not something to avoid
unconditionally. Some tension, such as the tension aroused by meaning to
fulfill, is inherent in being human and is indispensable to mental well-being.
Man is oriented toward meaning and he should be confronted with meaning.
Logotherapy does not spare the patient a confrontation with the
specific meaning that he has to carry out and which we have to help him
find. An American doctor once asked Frankl to tell him the difference
between Logotherapy and Psychoanalysis in one sentence. Frankl asked the
doctor to tell him the essence of Psychoanalysis. The doctor replied, "During
Psychoanalysis, the patient must lie down on a couch and tell you things
that are at times very disagreeable to tell." Frankl jokingly replied, "In
Logotherapy, the patient may remain sitting erect, but must hear things
that sometimes are very disagreeable to hear."
Meaning must not coincide with being: meaning must be ahead of
being. Meaning sets the pace for being. Pacemakers and peacemakers:
Pacemakers confront us with meaning and values, while peacemakers try to
alleviate the burden of meaning confrontation. Man is responsible for the
fulfillment of the specific meaning of his personal life. He is also responsible
before something, or to something, be it society, or humanity, or God, or his
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own conscience. Many people interpret their existence not just in terms of
being responsible in general terms but rather to someone, namely God.
Logotherapy, as a secular theory, must restrict itself to factual statements,
leaving to the patient the decision about how to understand his own being,
responsibility, and meaning: whether along the line of religious beliefs or
agnostic conviction. Logotherapy must remain available to everyone.
Capitalizing on responsibleness to this extent, a Logotherapist cannot spare
his patient the decision for what, to what, or to whom he is responsible.
3. MEANING OF LIFE: The meaning of life differs from person to
person, from day to day, and from hour to hour. What matters it not the
meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life
at a given moment. Everyone has his own specific mission in life; everyone
must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Each
person's task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it. It is
the individual's responsibility to come to an understanding of the meaning of
his or her life.
This emphasis on responsibleness is reflected in this saying, "So live as
if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the
first time as wrongly as you are about to act now." This invites one to
imagine first that the present is past and second that as the present is
changed so is the past. Such a precept confronts the individual with life's
finiteness and the finality of what he makes out of both his life and himself.
Logotherapy attempts to make the individual fully aware of his own
responsibility, but must leave to him the option for what, to what or to
whom he understands to be responsible. The Logotherapist's role consists in
widening and broadening the visual field of the patient so that the spectrum
of meaning and values becomes conscious and visible to him.
Meaning of life may change, but it never ceases to be. We can discover
the meaning of life through Creative Values, Experience Values, and
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Attitudinal Values. To put this in different words; meaning can come

through what we give to life (creative values), by what we take from the
world (experience values) such as listening to music, reading a book, etc.,
and through the stand we take toward a fate we can no longer change
(attitudinal values) such as the loss of a loved one to death, the loss of an
arm, etc. Even when one's activities are very limited because of an illness or
injury, life still offers an opportunity for the realization of attitudinal values.
If a person should lose an arm, the question should be “How can I best live
life with one arm?” What is significant is the person's attitude toward his
unalterable fate. The way in which he accepts, what courage he manifest in
suffering and the dignity he displays in doom and disaster is the measure of
his human fulfillment. A person's life retains its meaning up to the last, until
he draws his last breath. As long as a person remains conscious, he is under
obligations to realize values, even if those are only attitudinal values.
Individuals need some content for their lives. Frankl said, "If we can
help them find an aim and a purpose in their existence, in other words, if
they can be shown the task before them. 'Whoever has a reason for living
endures almost any mode of life.' says Nietzsche. The conviction that one
has a task before him has enormous psychotherapeutic values."
Frankl does not claim to have an answer for the individual's meaning
to life because meaning must be discovered by the individual for it cannot be
given by the therapist. The individual must find it spontaneously. The
Logotherapist is convinced, and if need be persuades his patients that there
is a meaning to fulfill, but he allows the individual to discover what the
meaning is. Along with the freedom of will and the will to meaning, there is
meaning to life: a meaning for which man has been searching for all along
and also that man has the freedom to embark on the fulfillment of that
meaning.
THE TRAGIC TRIAD OF HUMAN EXISTENCE: The tragic triad of
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human existence is made up of pain, guilt, and death. Every person has
experienced pain, guilt and will some day die. Speaking of the tragic triad
should not mislead the reader to assume that Logotherapy is pessimistic.
Logotherapy is an optimistic approach to life for it teaches that there are no
tragic or negative aspect of life that can not be, by the stand one takes to
them, translated into positive accomplishment.
One prerogative of being human is the ability to change and a
constituent of human existence is the capability of shaping and reshaping
oneself. In other words, it is a privilege of man to become guilty and his
responsibility to overcome guilt. Man does not have the freedom to undo
what he has done, but he does have the freedom to choose the right attitude
to guilt. A man who has failed by a deed cannot change what happened,
but by repentance he can change himself.
As for pain, man by virtue of his humaneness is capable of rising above
and taking a stand in regards to his suffering. A human being, by the very
attitude he chooses, is capable of finding and fulfilling meaning in suffering.
It is a basic tenet of Logotherapy that man's main concern is not to gain
pleasure or to avoid pain, but experience meaning to his life. That is why
man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, that his suffering has
meaning. Suffering does not have meaning unless it is absolutely necessary.
For instance, a dangerous illness that can be cured by medication must not
be shouldered by the patient as though it were his cross. This would be
masochism rather than heroism. In spite of suffering, life can have meaning
up to the last moment and it retains this meaning literally to the end. Life's
meaning is an unconditional one for it even includes the potential meaning
of suffering and death.
Frankl proposes the question, "can death make life meaningfully?"
Death does make life meaningful for if we were immortal, we could
postpone every action forever. With the fact of death, we are under the
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imperative of utilizing our life time to the utmost, not letting the singular
opportunities pass unused. Man's life is like that of a student at final
examination; in both cases, it is less important that the work be completed
but that its quality is high. The student must be prepared for the bell to
ring signaling that the time at his disposal has ended and in life, we must
always be ready to be "called away" (to die).
THE EXISTENTIAL VACUUM: The existential vacuum is a widespread
phenomenon of the twentieth century. This is due to a twofold loss that
man has undergone since he became truly a human being. At the beginning
of human history, man lost some basic animal instincts in which an animal's
behavior is embedded and by which it functions. Such security is closed for
man as he has to make choices. In his more recent development, man has
suffered another loss; traditions that had fortified his behavior are now
rapidly diminishing. No instinct tells man what he has to do and no
tradition tells him what he ought to do and often he does not even know
what he basically wishes to do. Instead he wishes to do what other people
do (conformism) or he does what other people wish him to do
(totalitarianism) or he refuses to follow anyone directions or guidance
(rebellionism)
The existential vacuum is often experienced as a state of boredom
which Frankl refers to as the "Sunday Neurosis." This kind of depression
affects people who become aware of the lack of content and meaning in
their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within
themselves becomes manifest.
The existential vacuum leads to a neurosis that shows itself in four
main symptoms.
1) First, there is the planless day-to-day attitude toward life.
2) The second symptom is the fatalist attitude toward life. The day-to-day
man considers planned action unnecessary while the fatalist considers it
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impossible.
3) The third symptom is collective thinking. Man would like to submerge
himself in the masses. The conformist or collectivist man denies his own
personality.
4) The fourth symptom is fanaticism. While the collectivist ignores his own
personality, the fanatic ignores that of others. For the fanatic, only his
views are valid.
Ultimately, all four symptoms can be traced back to man's fear of
responsibility and his escape from freedom. These attitudes lead to nihilism
that is a response to life which says that being has no meaning. A nihilist
considers that life is meaningless. Responsibility and freedom comprise the
spiritual domain of man so today man must be reminded that he has a
spirit and that he is a spiritual being. The spirituality of man is a "thing-in-
itself."
Man has freedom in spite of his instincts, inherited disposition, and
environment. Certainly man has instincts, but these instincts do not have
him. One can accept or reject his instincts. Regarding heredity, Frankl talks
about twins, one of which was a cunning criminal and the other a cunning
criminologist. Both were born with cunning, but each used it differently. As
for environment, it does not make the man, but everything depends on
what man makes of it by his attitude toward it.
Frankl referred to Freud who said, "Subject a number of very strongly
differentiated human beings to the same amount of starvation. With the
increase of the imperative need for food, all individual differences will be
blotted out and in their place, we shall see the uniform expression of the on
unsatisfied instinct." Frankl's response was, "In the concentration camps we
witnessed the contrary: we saw how, faced with the identical situations, one
man degenerated while another attained virtual saintliness."
PARADOXICAL INTENSION: It is commonly observed that anxiety
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often produces precisely what the patient fears. Frankl calls this
“anticipatory anxiety”. For instance, in cases of insomnia, the patient
reports that she has trouble going to sleep. The fear of not going to sleep
only adds to the difficulty of trying to go to sleep. Many sexual problems
may be traced back to the forced intention of attaining the goal of sexual
intercourse: as in the male seeking to prove his potency or the female her
ability to experience orgasm. It seems that anticipatory anxiety causes
precisely what the patient fears.
It is upon this fact that Logotherapists base the technique know as
"paradoxical intention." For instance, when a phobic patient is afraid that
something will happen to him, the Logotherapist encourages him to intend
for precisely what he fears. Hypnotherapist uses similar techniques in
"desensitization" and "circle therapy." Frankl tells the story of a young
physician who sweated excessively when in the presence of his chief. At
other times, he was not bothered by excessive sweating. The patient was
advised to resolve deliberately to show the chief just how much he really
could sweat. He was to say to himself, "I only sweated out a liter before, but
now I'm going to pour out at least 10 liters." Through this paradoxical
intention, he was able to free himself of his excessive sweating. The
treatment consists not only in a reversal of the patient's attitude toward his
phobia but also that it is carried out in a humorous way if possible.
This procedure is based on the fact that, according to Logotherapeutic
teachings, phobias and obsessive-compulsive neuroses is partially due to the
increase of anxieties and compulsions caused by the endeavor to avoid or
fight them. (The subconscious cannot tell the difference between a fear and a
wish and so attempts to bring either into reality.) A phobic person usually
tries to avoid the situation in which his anxieties arise, while the obsessive-
compulsive tries to suppress and fight his problem. In either case, the result
is a strengthening of the symptoms. If we can succeed in bringing the
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patient to the point where he ceases to flee from or to fight his symptoms,
then we may observe that the symptoms diminish and the patient is no
longer haunted by them.
The hypnotherapist often uses paradoxical intention whether he
realizes it or not. “Your eyes are stuck tightly together. The harder you try
to open them the tighter they stick. You can try to open them, but the
harder you try, the tighter they stick. Now relax and notice that you can
now open your eyes easily and comfortably.”
I have used "paradoxical intention", with a lady who ate two bags of
popcorn each night and wanted to stop. During the counseling session, I
said to her, "Now, tonight just say to yourself: 'Well, I have been eating two
bags of popcorn each night. Tonight, I am going to eat four bags of
popcorn. If I can eat two bags of popcorn, I can surely eat four bags." She
begin to laugh and said, "That is ridiculous. I don't want four bags.. Two
bags are too much also. I can be satisfied with one or less." You may notice
that there can be a touch of the ridiculous and humor in this approach.
Paradoxical intention allows the client to develop a sense of detachment
toward his problem by laughing at it. [Durbin. Kissing Frogs: p. 14-15]
The therapist is always faced with the seemingly impossible twofold
task of considering the uniqueness of each person, as well as the uniqueness
of the life situation with which each person has to cope. The choice of an
appropriate treatment method to be applied in any concrete case depends
not only upon the individuality of the patient involved, but also upon the
personality of the therapist. More important than the method used is the
relationship between the patient and the therapist. The relationship
between two persons is the most significant aspect of the therapeutic
process, an even more import factor than any method or technique.
VIKTOR FRANKL BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bulka, Beuven P. The Quest for Ultimate Meaning NY. Philological Library.
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1979
Crumbaugh, J. Everything To Gain: A Guide To Logotherapy. Chicago, IL.
Nelson-Hull. 1974
Frankl, V. The Doctor and The Soul. NY. Vintage Books. 1986
Frankl, V. Man's Search For Meaning. NY. Pocket Book. 1963
Frankl, V. Psychotherapy And Existentialism. NY. Clarion Book. 1967
Frankl, V. The Unheard Cry For Meaning. NY. Washington Square Press
1985
Frankl, V. The Will To Meaning. NY. Plum Book. 1970
Stern, A. The Search For Meaning. Memphis. TN Memphis State University.
1971
Tweedie, Jr. R. Logotherapy. Grand Rapids, MN Baker Book House. 1961
SECTION THREE: HYPNOTHERAPY FOR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
Chapter 14: The Initial Hypnosis Session:
USING HYPNOSIS SUCCESSFULLY:
1. First of all, you must be sensitive to and have empathy with the client
and an ability to communicate an understanding of his problems.
2. You must have the skills to work with the client so the client can be
released from control that the problem has on him.
3. You must have a knowledge of several hypnotic techniques that you can
be flexible in your approach and you can make adjustments when necessary.
Always proceed with an air of complete confidence. Give the impression of
being an authority on hypnosis even if you are a beginner. Imagine how you
might feel if you went to a surgeon to discuss a surgical procedure and he
said, "I'm glad you are ready for surgery. You will be my first patient, I
sure hope this operation will be a success."
4. If you are not properly trained to work with a problem or do not like to
work with the presenting problem or do not like the client, refer the client
to someone who can help them.
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5. You must be able to handle your own shortcomings and biases without
projecting them onto the client.
6. If a client becomes upset or hysterical or crying, remain calm and bring
calmness to the client.
7. When a situation calls for an attempt to remove a symptom by
suggestion, there is a way you can be sure to do so without causing any
danger, and that is, by using the finger response technique ask the question:
"Is it okay for you to get rid of that symptom?" If the answer given by the
subconscious mind is "yes" there should be no danger. If the answer is "no",
you should not attempt to remove the symptom at that time. (In working
with a client on health or pain problems, you should always have a
physician’s referral unless it is an emergency.)
8. Have scripts available as guides to help the client, but add information
from the client to your suggestion. That makes the suggestions more
personal and therefor more likely to be followed. You can also make up a
script as you work with a client based upon information from the client.
9. Always use good, positive suggestion and eliminate any negative words if
you can do so.
10. As much as possible the surroundings should be conducive to relaxation
and comfort. Pleasant lighting should be used if available, outside noises
should be eliminated as much as possible. If disturbing noises should occur
such as a phone ringing, just say, "Allow the ringing of the phone to carry
you deeper and deeper..”
11. Close friends and relatives sitting in to observe may interfere with the
client's ability to concentrate. She may be wondering if the relative is
thinking she looks silly or may kid her after it's all over. Though I prefer to
work with the client alone, if a client wants a family member or friend with
her, I follow the wishes of the client.
12. Even if you fail with a client, never tell the client that he cannot be
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hypnotized. Explain that everyone is different and responds to people

differently. Refer the client to another hypnotherapist.
13. Be sure that the client is brought out of the hypnotic state before
he/she leaves your office. Always count out even if the client has his/her
eyes open and may be talking to you.
14. Continue to read, study, go to seminars and take hypnosis courses so
that you can continue to improve your knowledge and techniques.
15. Think of hypnosis as a science and work accordingly. By following
these suggestions, you are most likely to succeed.
THE INITIAL SESSION: The beginning of the hypnotic session starts
with a call for an appointment. How the client feels about that first phone
call may determine whether or not the person requests an appointment
with you. If you have a secretary, the secretary should answer the phone by
stating the name of your business, the secretary's name and "May I help
you." When the secretary has received the intention of the call, she sets up
an appointment or if appropriate turns the call over to you.
With the information received from the secretary, you answer by
repeating your name. I usually say, "This is Chaplain Durbin, I understand
that you are interested in being a non-smoker." As the client talks, you can
take notes so that when the client comes in, you have some information. By
using that information when the client comes into your office, you treat the
client as somebody special.
The office environment will have an effect upon the client in
preparation for the session. The size of the office should not be too large or
too small. The colors should be pleasant. Bright colors should be avoided. If
the office appears to be nice and orderly, then it will make a silent
impression on the client. If music is used, it should be instrumental, soft and
pleasing to the ear.
The hypnotherapist and office staff should be dressed in a professional
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manner. How you dress sends a message. I personally believe that a male
therapist should wear a tie, banded collar, clergy collar; with or without a
coat. The therapist should display a sense of confidence without being
arrogant. Diplomas, certification, and award plaques displayed on the wall
indicates your professional qualification.
When the client arrives, the secretary has the client fill out an
information paper. Some of the information included on the paper are
name, address, phone number at home, phone number at work, age, sex,
single, married, divorced, separated, number of children. Further
information may include: Are you currently under a doctor's care? Are you
currently taking any form of medication? What kind of medication are you
taking? What is the purpose of your appointment? In addition to the
intake information form, the client answers the questions on the
suggestibility questionnaire as developed by Dr. John Kappas. [Professional
Hypnotism Manuel p. 32-37] The client is then invited into the therapist's
office.
Other than my own, I have three chairs plus my own in my office:
two straight chairs with arms and a recliner. The straight chairs are
padded and comfortable. When the client comes in, I ask her to sit in one of
the chairs directly in front of my desk. While she is sitting in chair number
one, we discuss the suggestibility questionnaire. I explain to the client that
the suggestibility questionnaire is not a psychological questionnaire so don’t
be concerned about contradicting yourself. It is a questionnaire to determine
if you respond better to direct or indirect suggestion. By knowing this, I can
word suggestions so that they are most beneficial to you for the presenting
problem and any other areas that may be important to the counseling
session.
After we have discussed the problem, I discuss my understanding of
hypnosis, go over misconceptions, and allow the client to ask any question
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she has concerning hypnosis.

When we have completed the discussion period, I go through some
suggestibility exercise to determine the client's response to suggestion and to
determine the types of suggestion which will be most effective with the
client.
After a couple of suggestibility exercises, I convert one of the exercises
to hypnosis. When the induction is completed, I ask the client to open her
eyes but remain in hypnosis and move to the recliner. After she becomes
comfortable in the recliner, I suggest that she close her eyes and go twice as
deep into this peaceful state of hypnosis. When the client is settled in the
chair, I lead her through a progressive relaxation procedure and deepen the
hypnotic state. Following the deepening procedures, I proceeded with
hypnotherapy.
It has been my policy to teach relaxation, imagery, and self-hypnosis
to people with whom I use hypnosis. I also give the client a tape to reinforce
the suggestions given. I believe that this helps the patient to be more
independent and gives them the message that they have an influence over
their life and health.
If a second session is needed, we begin the session with the client in
one of the chairs in front of my desk. The client gives an update and
counseling follows. When the counseling session has ended, the client moves
to the recliner. The patient often says as they move to the recliner, "Here is
where I go into hypnosis." After induction and deepening, hypnotherapy
begins.
Chapter 15: Hypnosis to be a Non-Smoker:
To begin with, the approach which I use with smokers is a positive
one. I do not suggest that each time the client lights up, the cigarette is
going to taste like horse manure. I know of one man who went to a
hypnotist who used this method. Although his cigarettes tasted like horse
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manure for awhile, he continued to smoke because the hypnotist used only
negative suggestions.
I do not use scare tactics because the client is already aware of the
health risks involved with smoking. I do not show pictures of a diseased lung
nor a movie showing someone having difficulty breathing. I do use releasing
techniques and give the client positive suggestions to help him be a non-
smoker. I also give him a tape with suggestions similar to those I use during
the therapy session.
STOP SMOKING PROTOCOL: Normally only one session is required for
stop smoking. A client can return for a second session within 30 days at no
additional cost. This offer is for stop smoking only.
SESSION ONE: Normal first session pre-talk with the following
additions. I point out that I agree with the “powers that be” that it is
difficult for many to stop smoking by cold turkey or even with the patches
or gum. I do not consider smoking a nicotine addiction but a habit for the
nicotine patches and gum are successfully for less that 10% of those who use
them. Wither I am right or wrong, hypnosis works. One of the
characteristics of the subconscious mind is that anything that the individual
develops into a habit, the subconscious mind considers that it is needed for
the well being of the individual. The subconscious mind does not care or
consider that the habit may be harmful to the individual so therefore
attempts to sabotage any effort to stop the habit. Through hypnosis, the
subconscious mind is convinced that it is for the benefit, the well being of the
client to quit smoking. When the subconscious mind is convinced that it is for
your benefit, your well being, your health then the subconscious mind begins
to assist you to be a non-smoker, instead of attempting to sabotage your
efforts.
QUESTIONS FOR SMOKERS:
DO YOU SMOKE MORE WHEN YOU FEEL: YES NO
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lonely ________ ______

tired ________
bored ________ ______
unhappy ________ ______
stressed ________ ______
insecure ________ ______
awkward ________ ______
uncomfortable ________ ______
angry or upset ________ ______
DO YOU SMOKE YES NO
before breakfast ________ ______
in your car, auto, vehicle ________ ______
while watching TV ________ ______
after meals ________ ______
at work to include at home ________ ______
in bed ________ ______
while reading ________ ______
with coffee ________ ______
with other drinks ________ ______
talking on the phone ________ ______
at social events ________ ______
do you regularly get up at night to smoke ________
______
DO YOU SMOKE MORE WHEN YOU NEED: YES NO
championship ________ ______
to take a break ________ ______
for comfort ________ ______
for relaxation ________ ______
to control your desire ________ ______
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in place of food ________ ______

to be noticed ________ ______
to look occupied ________ ______
MORE SMOKING QUESTIONS:
1. How long have you been smoking?
2. How many cigarette do you smoke a day?
______________________________________
3. Do you believe that smoking is harmful to your health?
____________________________
4. Do you ever experience shortness of breath?
____________________________________
5. Do you have a smoker’s cough? ______________________________________________
6. Do you have any other health problems related to smoking?
7. Have you ever burned clothing, furniture, or other items?
__________________________
8. How much do you pay for a pack of cigarettes?
9. If you smoke ________ cigarettes a day and a pack cost ________ you are
spending ____
a year.
10. Can you find a better way of spending the money you save when you
stop smoking?
11. Would it be a good example for others for you to quit smoking?
12. Why do you want to stop smoking?
13. Are you ready to quit smoking?
CHAPLAIN NOTES:
After suggestibility exercises and induction has occurred, the following scripts
are used by using information from the client to individualize with emphasis
on the clients suggestibility.
SCRIPTS FOR FIRST SESSION: "YOU CAN BE A NON-SMOKER": You
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have decided to stop smoking. This is your own decision. You are doing this
for your own benefit, and for your own personal well-being. I want you to
image that it is one year from today, (date by month, day, and year from
this session)and you suddenly remember that it has been a year since your
last cigarette. You are really thankful that you made the decision to stop
smoking. (Here list all the client’s reasons for wanting to stop smoking such
as:) It has been months since you had a problem with smoker’s cough, you
are much more active because you no longer are bothered by shortness of
breath, you have more money to spend on things that are more important
to you than cigarettes and the stink of tobacco in your house and car is a
thing of the past. You are thankful that you came here to stop smoking.
This means it is easy for you to get rid of the smoking habit through
hypnosis.
In fact, you have already stopped smoking, because you are realizing
how calm and relaxed you are right now, even though you don't have a
cigarette in your hand or your mouth. This relaxation that you are
experiencing is a very peaceful, calm state which you produced yourself. In
the same way you become calm and relaxed every time you take a good
deep breath and exhale. As you breathe out, tension leaves your body and a
calm relaxed state takes over.
FINGER AND THUMB TECHNIQUE FOR RELEASING need for a
cigarette. (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tool) You know that you need
food to provide your body with proper nourishment but you eat at the
appropriate time and the appropriate amount. You refuse to exchange an
eating habit for a smoking habit. You feel good about yourself and you can
maintain your current weight or even reduce if you so desire. You need
water for proper body maintenance, but there is nothing in a cigarette
which your body needs. You are well aware of the harmful effects of
smoking so I do not need to go into that. Each hour, each day, each week,
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each month, each year you go as a non-smoker your lungs get cleaner,
healthier, pinker. Each hour, each day, each week, each month, each year
you go as a non-smoker your heart functions more normally because it no
longer has to pump the extra weight of nicotine and tar through your body.
Each hour, each day, each week, each month, each year you go as a non-
smoker, your circulatory system functions more properly because it no
longer has to carry the extra weight of nicotine and tar throughout your
body. Day by day in every way you are getting healthier and healthier as a
non-smoker. (Repeat 3 times)
THE HEAVY BACKPACK: (Refer to Chapter 7: Healing Stories and
Guided Imagery) The backpack containing your conscious and subconscious
need to smoke is gone. For the first time in ____ years, you are free to be a
non-smoker. In the past cigarettes controlled you, now you are in control.
Your subconscious mind now understands that it good for your health, your
well being and your future for you to be a non smoker. Your subconscious
mind is causing your body processes to function properly to cleanse all
nicotine, tar and all other impurities caused by smoking from your body
rapidly through the natural processes of your body so you are getting rid of
the desire to smoke, now and forever. Your subconscious mind is directing
your natural body processes to cleanse out all nicotine, tar and other
impurities caused by smoking rapidly from your body. All desire to smoke is
leaving your mind and body. As your subconscious assists you, your will-
power and self-control are becoming stronger every hour, enabling you to be
completely free from the smoking habit.
You are calm and relaxed even when you are around other people who
are smoking. When you see other people smoking, it makes you happy that
you are a non-smoker. You are proud of the fact that you are a non-
smoker.
Tobacco has lost its appeal to you. You may be able to enjoy the smell
 225

of tobacco when someone else is smoking, but you have been released from
the desire to smoke yourself. You have quit smoking completely. You have
been completely released from the smoking habit. You are happy to feel the
freedom you now enjoy. You feel like a great load has been lifted from you.
All desire for smoking is being cleansed out of your body completely. Each
hour you keep feeling healthier, stronger, cleaner.
CRUTCHES: There was a man (or woman, depending on the sex of
the client) who lived in a strange country. Now, this was a strange country
because most of the adults walked with crutches even though they had no
physical handicap requiring crutches. This man had walked with crutches for
many years, even though he had no physical disability that required he use
crutches. It was just a habit.
Now there were disadvantages to using crutches. They slowed the
person down and caused them to interfere with the safety of others as they
might bump into another or accidentally trip another person.
One day as this man was walking several blocks from his home, he saw
the little boy who lived next door to him. As the little boy was crying and
several blocks from home, the man assumed that he was lost. Without
thinking, the man dropped his crutches, took the little boy and walked him
home. The mother was overjoyed for indeed he had been lost. Later that
night, the man remembered that he had left his crutches on the street
where he had found the little boy. His first thought was to run down the
street to see if he could find his crutches. If not, he could go to a
convenience store and by a new pack. The man said to himself, "I have gone
without my crutches this long, I can go without them the rest of my life."
He did, and so can you.
THE GREAT AS IF: (Recommended for use with a client whose
dominate suggestibility is indirect. (Refer to Chapter 7: Healing Stories and
Guided Imagery)
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You are rapidly becoming the person you have always wanted to be:
self-confident, self-sufficient, healthy, acceptable, capable and strong and
enjoying life as a non smoker. You enjoy life more each day. You are proud
of yourself as a non smoker.
(Use things that triggered a cigarette as a trigger for being proud of
being a non-smoker such as:) From now on whenever you pick up a cup of
coffee and smell the good aroma and taste the good flavor of the coffee, you
are reminded of how proud you are to be a non-smoker. Ever time you get
in a car or other vehicle, you are reminded of how proud you are to be a
non-smoker. Every time you pick up a telephone, you are reminded of how
proud you are to be a non-smoker. Every time you finish a meal and take a
good breath of air, you are reminded of how proud you are to be a non-
smoker...
At the count of three you come out of hypnotic experience feeling
good, calm, and relaxed. One, you come out knowing that you have a
valuable tool to help you be a non-smoker for whenever you have a desire to
smoke, instead of reaching for a cigarette, take a deep breath, touch the
first finger and thumb together and when you exhale the desire to smoke
leaves you mind and body and in its place will be a sense of pride,
accomplishment, and peace. Two, you come out feeling very good and
confident that you are a non-smoker. Three. (Give client “Hypnosis for
Being a Non-Smoker” tape.)
SECOND SESSION IF REQUIRED: Discuss with client what happened
since he/she left office following the original session. What happened to cause
client to pick up first cigarette? Get as much information as possible and
integrate it into the hypnosis session. Did he listen to the tape as instructed?
Use induction of choice.
SCRIPTS FOR SECOND SESSION: STOP SMOKING #2: As you are
relaxed and comfortable, you are now ready to allow your subconscious
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mind to make some pleasant changes within you so that you change from
being a smoker to being a non-smoker. In fact, your subconscious mind is
already directing your natural body processes to eliminate all nicotine, tar
and other impurities caused by smoking from your sinuses, from your
throat, from your lungs, from your blood and from the rest of your body
through your normal elimination systems.
You have accepted the responsibility for taking care of your own body.
By returning for this session, you have made a commitment to protect your
body from now on by deciding to never smoke again. You have made a wise
decision. You are now in control and you are a non-smoker because you are
dissatisfied with the way smoking affects you. I am suggesting to your
subconscious mind that you need your body to live and you want to live the
rest of your life in a healthy body, so you are determined that you have
stopped smoking for your health and well being.
Now that you are a non-smoker, you know your body is healthier and
stronger. You'll find that you feel much better now that you have
discontinued the smoking habit. This is your own decision. You have ceased
smoking for your own benefit, for your own personal well-being, for your
own health, and for others as well, (and list other reasons client came for
stop smoking.)
FREE FROM JAIL: Just imagine that you find yourself in a jailhouse
and you are behind bars. As you look out of the windows, the bars look like
cigarettes and as you look at the jail cell door, the bars look like giant
cigarettes. You also notice that the key is in the door and has been there all
the time. You realize that you are in a prison of your own making, a prison
of cigarette smoking.
As you feel the desire to be freed from this jail cell of your own making, you
must unlock the door and move out to the freedom beyond the prison. You
can unlock the door, move out of the prison cell and be free. If you are
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ready to be free from this prison cell of the smoking habit and be set free,
turn the key and unlock the door, and allow one of your fingers to rise.
There it is, your first finger of your right hand is rising, as you unlock the
door and free yourself. You are happy, you feel released, you feel free. You
are free of the smoking habit so enjoy the free air of freedom.
You are happy to notice how much better you feel now that you are a
non-smoker. You are happy to know that your subconscious mind has
already started the process of cleansing the nicotine, tar and other
impurities out of your body through the normal functions of your
elimination systems.
You are happy to find that your will-power and self-control keep
increasing, more and more each hour. You have stopped smoking already.
You realize that you are peaceful and calm right now, even though you don't
have a cigarette in your hand or mouth, nor do you have one burning in an
ash tray nearby. Remember that you have a signal to help you whenever
you have a desire to smoke or when you feel a need to be calm as you go
about your daily activities. The signal is simple; instead of reaching for a
cigarette take a good deep breath, touch the first finger and thumb together
and as you exhale, the desire to smoke leaves your mind and body and you
feel calm, relaxed, peaceful and you experience a sense of pride in being a
non-smoker. You feel calm and relaxed. Now you have stopped smoking
and you are in control.
You know that your body needs water. Water is good for your body.
It helps cleanse waste materials and impurities from your body. It helps
eliminate the desire for snacks so that you maintain your present weight or
even helps you to lose weight if you desire to do so. Your body needs food to
provide proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber, potassium and other nutrients to
keep your body trim and healthy. You eat at the appropriate time and the
appropriate amounts. You refuse to exchange an eating habit for a smoking
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habit.
Getting rid of the smoking habit gives you a feeling of fulfillment and
a strong sense of satisfaction and pride. You realize that being a non-
smoker is very important to you and your health. It enables you to be an
inspiration to a lot of other people who become aware of what you have
accomplished.
You are sensing a wonderful feeling of satisfaction from knowing that
you are a non-smoker and you feel even better as, day by day, you become
healthier and healthier.
When you are around other people who are smoking, it makes you
proud that you are a non-smoker. Tobacco has lost its appeal to you. You
may be able to enjoy the smell of tobacco when someone else is smoking but
you are reminded by the smell (good/bad) how thankful you are to be a
non-smoker.
You are completely released from the smoking habit. You are happy
to feel the freedom you now enjoy. In the past, cigarettes have controlled
you, now you are in control. You feel like a big load has been lifted from
you. You feel that you have been released from the prison of smoking
cigarettes. You keep feeling healthier and cleaner each day.
HEALTH, SUCCESS, AND MOTIVATION: (Refer to Chapter 8:
Hypnotherapy Scripts)
THIRD SESSION IF NEEDED:
FINGER RESPONSE OR PENDULUM FOR THERAPY: IF NEEDED: (Refer to
Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools: “Finger and Pendulum Response for
Therapy”.)
SUBCONSCIOUS QUESTIONS FOR SMOKERS: (Refer to Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools: “Questions for Therapy”)
HAND TO FACE TO FACE FOR THERAPY (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic
Tools) and if needed THERAPY BETWEEN SESSIONS (Refer to Chapter 9:
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Therapeutic Tools)
STOP SMOKING SCRIPT OF CHOICE
Chapter 16: Hypnosis for Weight Control:
How many times have you gone on a diet to reduce? You
suffered until finally you gave up without reaching your goal. Perhaps you
did reach your goal only to find that, in a short time, you had gained all
that weight again. Through hypnosis and self-hypnosis, there is help and
hope. I explain that emotions play a tremendous roll in our eating habits
and one of the goals of counseling and hypnotherapy is to help remove the
emotional motivations for eating. I help clients understand that it is OK to
eat and enjoy it for their physical well being so that when they reaches their
our goal, they can maintain it. With this introduction, I begin my sessions
with individuals desiring to lose weight and maintain weight. I require at
least three sessions for weight control. Of course, the client may have more
if they feel that it is necessary.
I go over misconceptions and answer any questions. I explain how the
conscious and subconscious works and how hypnosis can help. Hypnosis is
not a magic wand that can be applied with a few words of "Hocus Pocus"
and the weight magically disappears. Even with hypnosis, changing your
habit of eating eventually requires some effort on your part. You must
practice self-hypnosis and/or listen to the weight control tapes to reinforce
the suggestions given here and you must make the appropriate decision to
reduce and maintain desired weight. I talk with the client about their
eating habits and what food means to them. Before induction, I ask the
client to select a desired weight.
PROTOCOL FOR WEIGHT CONTROL:
FIRST SESSION: Have client fill our suggestibility questionnaire and
give regular first session pre-talk.
QUESTIONS FOR WEIGHT CONTROL:
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DO YOU EAT MORE WHEN YOU ARE: YES NO

hungry ________
nervous ________ ______
bored ________ ______
stressed ________ ______
very active ________ ______
happy ________ ______
sad ________ ______
lonely ________ ______
frustrated ________ ______
afraid ________ ______
DO YOU EAT TO MUCH OR SNACK: YES NO
while watching TV ________ ______
during breaks ________ ______
while reading ________ ______
with coffee ________ ______
while traveling ________ ______
at sports events ________ ______
at business lunches ________ ______
in bed ________ ______
DO YOU SNACK WHENEVER YOU NEED: YES NO
affection ________ ______
reward ________ ______
companionship ________ ______
something to do ________ ______
a change in your activity ________ ______
to compensate for something unpleasant
to relax ________ ______
to feel more important ________ ______
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to feel secure ________ ______

in place of sexual attention ________ ______
CHAPLAIN’S NOTES:
SCRIPTS USED FOR FIRST SESSION: (Client information is integrated
into scripts to make them more personal.) WEIGHT CONTROL #1: I
want you to use your imagination. Imagine that you are looking at your
reflection in a mirror. Imagine yourself the size you want to be. Enjoying
that experience, feel good about yourself and realize this can be you. See
yourself stepping on the weight scale and weighing pounds. Imaging
what you want to happen so that your subconscious mind has a model to
work toward. Do this every night just before you go to sleep and then say
ten time, “I am in the process of becoming slimmer and slimmer.”
THE HEAVY BACKPACK: (Refer to Chapter 7: Healing Stories and
Guided Imagery) Now that your subconscious mind is working for you, your
natural body processes are eliminating unneeded and unwanted body fat.
REPEAT. REPEAT. Your confidence is increasing, and you realize that you
are achieving your goal of getting the weight of your body down to
pounds. REPEAT. REPEAT.
Repeat to yourself several times, "I avoid those foods which I know are
fattening." And then repeat several times, "I deserve those foods which I
know help me meet my goal." About 10 minutes before a meal, drink a
large glass of water, preferably ice water. This will help you feel full and
satisfied and you are eating less food. Imagine yourself at a meal. You
choose and desire those foods which help you reach your goal of pounds
and you refuse those foods that block your goal. Imagine picking up a fork,
taking a bite of food, putting the fork down. Chew and enjoy and enjoy
and chew. Get full benefit from each bite. Each time you take a bite of
food, put the fork/spoon down as you chew and enjoy and enjoy and chew.
Visualize people complimenting you on your weight and size. As you
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do this each day, you reduce to and you notice the improvement. This
causes your confidence to keep increasing because you know you are getting
your weight down to pounds. As you reduce down to pounds you
increase your feeling of self-worth and you like yourself better. Whenever
you have a desire for extra food, you can take a deep breath, imagine
yourself at pounds and as you exhale, the desire for that food leaves
your mind as the air is breathed out. You feel calm and relaxed.
TAKING OFF LAYERS. (Refer to Chapter 7 Healing Stories and Guided
Imagery.) Continue:
1. You reduce to because you look better with a slimmer body.
2. You reduce to because it improves your health and because it helps
you to live longer.
3. You reduce to because it helps you develop a more mature, more
relaxed, more confident personality.
4. You reduce to because it increases your vitality and energy and
because it increases your self confidence.
5. You reduce to because it gives you the confidence to conquer any
other challenging problem you face in life.
6. You reduce to because it helps you to be proud of what you have
accomplished and because it helps you to be an inspiration to other
people who see what you have accomplished.
7. You reduce to because it makes your life more enjoyable.
BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy
Scripts.) At the count of three, you come out of hypnotic experience feeling
good, calm, and relaxed. One, you come out knowing whenever you have a
desire for extra food or an inappropriate snack, you just take a deep breath,
image yourself at _________ pounds and as you exhale the desire for the extra
food is gone and you feel good. Two, coming out feeling as if you have had
an hour of energy restoring sleep, but it will in no way affect your sleep
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tonight for you sleep better tonight than you have in a long time. Three,
coming out confident in your ability to reach and maintain your goal of
________ pounds.
Give client audio tape “Weight Control” with instruction for client to
listen at least once a day to one side of the tape, the next day to the other
side. I give a business card with this statement on the back: For the next 30
days say at least 10 times just before going to sleep and after the imagery
of seeing yourself in the mirror and weighing , “I am in the process
of becoming slimmer and slimmer.”
SECOND SESSION: Have client go over what has occurred since last
session.
WORD ASSOCIATION FOR WEIGHT CONTROL
1. You got to finish your 20. By overeating, I avoid

2. Here's another 21. Being fat helps me

3. Grow up 22. Slim and trim
4. Fast foods 23. Food means to me
5. Make you big and strong 24. I'll be thin when

6. You must not waste 25. Women are

7. It's a sin to 26. Men are
8. Starving children in 27. Exercise is
9. Food makes me feel 28. My weight tells me
10. My favorite food is 29. Food in place of
11. When I eat too much I feel 30. Father
12. Eating feels 31. Mother
13. Sex 32. How will your life be different
when
14. When I hear "You're fat." I you reach and maintain
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your desired
15. If you eat all your food you can have weight of ?
16. Never get enough CHAPLAIN'S NOTES:
17. If you are good I will give you
18. Clean your plate
19. Stuffing myself helps me
Discuss the word association for weight control with client.
Discuss with client any problem area and other concerns.
SCRIPTS FOR SECOND SESSION: 20 DOWN TO 1 -- INDIRECT
INDUCTION: (Refer to Chapter 5: “Inductions”)
INSTITUTE OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE: (Refer to Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools) SELECTIVE EATING: You have a tiny gland in your brain
called the appestat gland, and the purpose of that gland is to let you know
when your body needs food...and when your body has had the right amount
needed to keep you healthy and slender. Over the years you have paid little
or no attention to the messages of the appestat gland. As a results, it has
become unreliable, but it is now being rejuvenated to function properly.
That gland is capable of functioning properly and is now being rejuvenated
so it is functioning properly...From now on you eat only when your body
needs food, and are very selective in the food you eat.
That part of your mind that controls the processes of your body
understands that the purpose of eating food is to provide the nourishment
needed to keep your body healthy and strong...therefore, you select only
those foods that are beneficial for your body...and you are perfectly content
and completely satisfied with only the small amount your body needs to
continue becoming healthier and remain slim and trim at the level of _____
pounds.
About ten minutes before eating you can drink a glass of water,
preferably ice water, because water helps your food to digest properly.
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Water is also beneficial in many other ways. It aids your elimination system
in functioning properly to cleanse waste products and waste materials out of
your body in an easy, natural way... Water keeps your kidneys healthy and
helps keep your urination system clean. So unless you are on a water
restricted requirement, you can enjoy drinking lots of water.
I want you to use your imagination now...Imagine a very nice meal set
out in front of you...Look at it and notice how good it looks...Smell it and
notice the pleasant fragrance of the food.
You are looking it over and becoming aware of the small portions you can
select that can benefit your body and be sufficient to take care of your needs
for nourishment of your body. Now you put a small portion of those foods
that are beneficial for your body on your plate, being very selective, because
you eat only the right foods for your body...
You now pick up your fork and you put a small bite of food into your
mouth and put your fork down... You are chewing that bite thoroughly,
really enjoying the delicious flavor of the food. Taking your time, noticing
the texture and continuing to chew the food until all the pleasurable flavor is
gone, and then you swallow. You put down your fork, because you are
taking your time and now before picking it up, you take a sip of water, or
tea or whatever else you are drinking with your meal. A small sip is
sufficient and you roll it on your tongue, noticing the taste and then
swallow. You continue on through the entire meal, taking your time,
chewing your food thoroughly and eating until you feel satisfied and
comfortable. After each bit, you put down your utensil and chew and enjoy
and enjoy and chew. As soon as you have eaten the small amount needed
by your body, you stop and you are satisfied.
You eat only when your body needs food and you eat only the small
amount needed by your body at that time. When you have eaten the
amount that is right to continue reducing your body and keep your body
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slim and trim at , you are content and satisfied until your body
needs food again. You develop the habit and pattern of eating when you are
hungry and are very selective of the foods you eat, being sure to eat only
foods that are right for your body...
SHRINKING STOMACH: You are deeply relaxed and peaceful and you
can continue relaxing even more as I talk to you. You can be pleased to find
that the processes of your body are functioning properly, causing all excess
cellulite and fat to be cleansed out of your body through the normal, natural
processes of your elimination system.
You can also be happy to notice that you eat only small amounts of
food needed to reach and maintain your goal of . Your stomach is
gradually shrinking down to the proper size to reduce your body to ____
pounds.
It is normal and natural for you to eat only when your body needs
food...and eat only the small amount your body needs to continue becoming
healthier and more slender, exactly the way you consciously want your body
to be.
Your self-confidence and self-acceptance keep increasing more each
day...Your willpower and self-control continue becoming stronger...and
without any conscious effort by you...your stomach is shrinking down to the
proper size to hold only the right amount of food to keep your normal,
natural, ____ pound body healthy and strong.
When your body needs food, you eat only the small amount needed by
your body at the time...and when you have eaten what your body needs, you
feel content, happy and perfectly satisfied.
You are learning to respond to the normal feelings of your
stomach...When your body needs food, your stomach lets you know by
causing you to feel hungry... When you have the hunger feeling you know it
is time to eat some food to provide the proper nutrition needed by your
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body at that time. Then, as soon as you have eaten the proper amount
needed at that time, you feel satisfied and the hunger feelings are gone until
your body needs food again... You eat only when your stomach lets you know
your body needs food... and you eat only the small amount needed by your
body at that time. Your stomach is shrinking because your body is reducing
and you continue needing a smaller amount of food... You are happy to
notice that your entire body is becoming more slender, trimmer, and
perfectly proportioned... the way you consciously want it to be. Your body is
getting slimmer and slimmer and this is just inspiring to you. It gives you a
good feeling. The fact that your stomach is shrinking just enough to reduce
your body to ____ pounds and keep your body at the level of ____ pounds
causes you to feel very confident and happy.
HANDLE FOR WEIGHT CONTROL: You may recall that the
refrigerator door and the food closet door have handles on them. Those
handles can be an aid to opening the doors. They can also be an aid in
closing the door. But the handles can serve another purpose. Those handles
can be a reminder to you that you can have a handle on your appetite.
There are times during the day when you know that opening the door of
the refrigerator and the food closet is appropriate, at your regular
mealtimes. But during the rest of the day those door handles can represent
to you an opportunity to get a better handle on yourself. You can take a
look at the door handles and remind yourself that you do have a handle on
your appetite. That's right, those handles can be a constant reminder of
your own control, your own handle on your goals. Look at the handles, take
a deep breath and imagine yourself at ________ pounds and as you exhale, the
need and desire for that extra food leaves your mind and in its place, a
sense of pride, confidence and peace. You have a handle on your appetite.
HEALTH, SUCCESS, MOTIVATION: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy
Scripts)
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1 UP TO 20 -- COMING OUT OF HYPNOSIS: (Refer to Chapter 5:

Inductions) (Give client “Affirmations for Weight Control” a music tape with
affirmations by Dr. Louis Bauer for weight control. It is not a hypnotic tape
so a person can listen to it while driving, exercise or other things.)
THIRD SESSION: (Counseling time with client.)
INDUCTION OF CHOICE:
FINGER RESPONSE OR PENDULUM FOR THERAPY: (Refer to Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools)
QUESTIONING FOR WEIGHT CONTROL:
1. Is there some emotional reason causing you to be overweight?
2. Is there some imprint or impression in your mind causing you to be
overweight? (If the answer is yes, find out if there is more
than one.)
3. Is there more than one? _____________________________
4. Are you identifying with someone, perhaps a parent, who was or is
overweight?_____
5. Do you overeat when you feel lonely? ______ (Rejected?) _____
(Unloved?)
6. Do you overeat when you feel tense? ____ (Anxious?) ________
(Worried?)
7. Do you overeat to feel more secure? _______________________________________
8. Do you use excess weight to hide you from something?
9. Is food eaten a reward?
10. Do you like the way your body looks now?
11. Do you dislike yourself in other ways?
12. Are you using excess weight as a way of punishing yourself?
____________________
13. Are you using excess weight as a way of punishing someone else?
_______________
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14. Are you using excess weight as a way of harming yourself?

_____________________
15. Is there some conflict in your mind over sex that causes you to
be overweight?
16. Are you overweight to make yourself sexually unattractive?
17. Are you overweight because of some idea about food that was
implanted in your mind during childhood?
18. Is it O.K. with your subconscious mind for you to reduce to
________ pounds and maintain that weight? (If answer is "no" ask, "Can
you, or do you want to discuss why you do not want to reach your
desired goal of ______ pounds?” If answer is “yes” discuss and if
situation is resolved go to next weight control script. If the answer is
no, further counseling is necessary)
HAND TO FACE FOR THERAPY (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools)
WATERFALL FOR CLEANSING AND RELEASING: (Refer Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools)
THE IDEAL BODY - WEIGHT REDUCTION: This mind exercise that
you are doing now is very helpful in enabling you to develop your normal,
beautiful, slender, slim, trim, healthy, strong body... As you are doing this
mind exercise, I want you to observe your body as though you are looking at
your body in a mirror.
Notice your body now... Notice the position of your body and be
completely aware of your body... If you feel like you want to move any part
of your body to get in a more comfortable position before you go into a
much deeper hypnotic state, you can do that now...(Pause) Now, you can
relax even more and I want you to think of your body for a moment the
way it is right now because it is going to begin to change in to a healthier,
slimmer body... Scan your whole body from the top of your head down to
your toes... (Pause)
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Now continue relaxing calmly and peacefully... You have examined your
body as it is right now... so now you are ready to imagine your body that
way you actually want it to be... You give your attention to all the details of
your body... In your mind, you are creating the healthy, ideal, slender, trim,
youthful body that is really you... Imagine your slender, trim, ______ pound
body, strong, healthy, and firm... Notice the slender, firm, properly
proportion legs,(Women: Smooth and Beautifully shaped,) Exactly the way
you like your legs... Imagine your thighs slim, trim, firm ( Women: Smooth
and Beautifully) exactly the way you want your thighs to be... And imagine
and feel your hips and buttocks, slender and firm. Perfectly proportioned...
Get that idea in your mind clearly... Move your attention to your
stomach...See and think of your abdomen and stomach flat, smooth and
properly proportioned... Concentrate on your waist as being slim and
slender... Your waist and your stomach are slim, trim and firm... Now move
to your back...Notice your slender, strong back, think of your spine in perfect
alignment... Now move around to your chest. (Women: Imagine your breasts
full, smooth, firm... Both breasts round, beautiful, and perfectly
proportioned to your slim, trim, slender _______ pound body.) (Men: Notice
your chest muscular, firm and strong.) Think of your hands, your arms and
shoulders, slim, trim, and strong... Visualize and imagine your neck slim and
trim, clear up to the bottom on your chin... And now you see your face,
exactly the way you want your face... Trim, smooth, and youthful looking...
Enjoy your body.
AFFIRMATIONS FOR A SLENDER BODY
* You look forward to being slim and attractive.
* You are reducing and can maintain your desired weight of .
* You deserve to be slender.
* You eat only when your body needs food.
* You are willing to be slender.
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* You eat just the right amount of food to keep your body nourished and
healthy.
* You have a successful consciousness about weighing .
* You love and respect your body and feel good at .
* Your body maintains its weight at .
* You are comfortable within yourself.
* It is safe for you to be attractive.
* The more you love your body, the more beautiful it becomes.
* Everything you eat or drink goes to maintain your body at .
* It's okay if it takes some time for you to weigh , because it's
permanent.
* Your body becomes more beautiful each day.
* You take the time to exercise your body regularly.
* You are healthy, happy and full of energy and vitality.
DEVELOPING PROPER EATING HABITS: You are now deeply and
peacefully relaxed, and you can continue relaxing even more as I talk
you....You subconscious mind is hearing and receiving everything I tell you
and is causing the processes of your body to function properly to continue
getting rid of all excess cellulite, fat and fluid from every part of your body
that you want to reduce... The subconscious level of your mind is receiving
everything I tell you and is causing it to continue working automatically to
reduce your body down to ____pounds.... The processes of your body continue
functioning more perfectly and cleanse all substances which you consider to
be excess fat and fluid out of your body and reduces your body down to
____pounds...
Your subconscious mind is causing your entire organism to cooperate
and function properly and eliminate all excess fat and fluid from your body
in an easy, natural way through the natural processes of your elimination
system... The relaxation of your mind and body is causing you to have a
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more relaxed attitude about eating...You eat only when your body needs
food and you eat only foods that are needed to keep your body healthy and
reduce your body down to ____pounds....
Without any conscious effort by you, the desire to eat in between
meals is fading away and soon is gone completely... Your self-confidence
and self-acceptance are increasing more each day and your will-power and
self-control are continuing to increase... You are pleased to find yourself
desiring only those foods needed to keep your body healthy and to slenderize
your body down to ____pounds...
Your subconscious mind is causing your appestat gland to control your
appetite so you eat only when your body needs food and you eat only the
right foods needed by your body to keep you healthy and reduce your body
down to _____pounds... When your body does need food, you eat only the
small amount needed by your body at that time...You feel content and
satisfied as soon as you have eaten just the right amount needed at that
time and then you stop eating.
The subconscious part of your mind is causing every part of your body
to function harmoniously and cooperate in reducing your body to ____
pounds and then continues cooperating by keeping your body at the level of
____ pounds.... You are developing eating habits that are perfectly suited for
you ___ pound body...You are developing eating habits that keeps your body
slim, trim, firm and strong...
When you eat, you always eat slowly...You take small bites and chew
each bite thoroughly...By taking small bites and chewing each bite
thoroughly, you keep experiencing more satisfaction from the food you
eat...and you feel completely satisfied as soon as you have eaten the small
amount your body needs at that time...
You are calm and relaxed when you are eating...That causes your
metabolism to function more properly and causes your body to retain only
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that part of the food needed to provide the proper nourishment needed to
keep your body healthy and strong... Your elimination system is functioning
properly and is cleansing all waste material from the food you eat out of
your body in an easy, natural way...
You are getting rid of all excess fat and fluid from every part of your
body that you want to reduce and you can notice your body becoming
slimmer and trimmer each day... Your subconscious mind is learning rapidly
the best way to cause the proper changes needed in your body to reduce
your body down to ___ pounds and keep your body slender, firm and
strong...
Before you begin a meal, take a deep breath and breathe out tension
this causes you to become relaxed, calm and peaceful...That keeps your
metabolism functioning properly and the food you eat digests easily and
your elimination system functions properly... Every part of your organism
keeps functioning properly, causing your body to continue reducing down to
. You are determined to reduce your body down to ____ pounds keeps
increasing...Your will-power and self-control continue becoming
stronger...You are pleased with the continuous improvement in all areas of
your life.
Cover issues that may be of concern to the client and offer future
sessions as needed by the client should the client desires future sessions.
Chapter 17: Hypnosis for Study Improvement, Concentration and Memory:
Hypnosis and Self-Hypnosis for improving memory and concentration
is especially helpful. Hypnosis cannot take the place of studying, but it can
enhance the individual's learning abilities and retention. Hypnosis enables
the individual to tap the great reservoir of power which resides in the
subconscious.
There are three ways hypnosis can improve one's scholastic abilities:
(1) Improves your ability to concentrate.
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(2) Improves your ability to recall and remember.

(3) Improve your ability to be calm and relaxed while taking examinations.
SUGGESTIONS FOR CONCENTRATION AND MEMORY: (As more than
one session may be necessary, several scripts are included): You can
concentrate on what you are studying. Visualize yourself studying,
remembering and recalling what you study. Your mind is like a computer.
You feed data into it by reading and listening. You hear something and
record it. You experience something and record it. You can picture the
things you hear, you can experience the things you study. Everything fed
into your computer is permanently retained and available to you.
You have a good memory and day by day your memory is getting
better and better. (Repeat three times.) It is easy for you to learn and
remember. Concentration strengthens your mind and memory. Whenever
you use your memory, it becomes stronger every time you use it. Using
your concentration and memory enhances your capacity for a successfully,
creative and productive life.
Whenever you take an exam or when you desire to remember specific
information, you are relaxed. Therefore, whenever you desire to relax, take
three deep breath. You breath in relaxation and exhale tension. This relaxes
you and enables you to recall the things you have learned.
During an exam, if you come to a question but do not recall, just take
the deep breath and think, "I know the answer to the question and I am
able to recall it in a very short time." Move on to the next question and as
you work on other questions, the answer comes to the question you had
difficulty answering. If you need to go back to a question, you can say, "My
mind is like a computer keyboard and as I punch the recall button, the
answer comes on the screen of my memory." ENJOY
SCHOOLWORK: You are ready to enjoy some very pleasant changes in the
way you study. Many people have found that if something is boring, tiring,
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monotonous or tedious, that just a slight change can make that same thing
surprisingly pleasant, enjoyable and inspiring... Schoolwork, when completed
can give a person a sense of accomplishing something and doing it well...
When you are just beginning your schoolwork the feeling it is going to be
done, is being done, and has been done and has been completed causes you
to have a feeling of expectation that enables you to concentrate better, learn
more rapidly and really enjoy studying... Think it over... Don't agree yet...
Think it over before you agree... (Pause) You can actually enjoy doing your
assignments and you can feel really proud in knowing that you have
completed your schoolwork, because you can go on to do other things
without worrying about studying. It is done...
Have a sense of accomplishing something... of knowing that you have
done a good job... Having completed something gives you a joyful sense of
accomplishment... So at the end of the day, you go to bed and sleep
peacefully and calmly knowing your schoolwork is done for the day. The
overall image of you completing your schoolwork is a good thing to
accomplish... and it keeps becoming easier and more enjoyable for you to
achieve... The nice feelings come as you are doing it... causing it to be really
worthwhile... It that alright? (Pause)
I expect your mind to translate everything I'm saying to you into your
own words... Your own phrases... and your own actions... so the changes are
accomplished in your own ways... not mine...
You find pleasure in doing your school assignments. Notice that you are
already beginning to feel enthusiastic about it... You are already sensing the
feeling of satisfaction you have in doing things you need to do... knowing
that it will be your own accomplishment...You are already organizing the
words I have told you into your own actions and you will be pleased to find
this continuing after you awaken from the hypnotic state.
CONCRETION AND STUDYING: Your brain is like a computer. It is
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superior to a computer. As a matter of fact, your brain is the prototype for

all computer. All of them have been fashioned after some of the processes of
your mind.
During the first five years of your life, you learned more than you did
in any other five-year period since. You learned a language, how to walk
and run; you learned how to distinguish one person from another and one
object from another with all their proper names. You learned your colors,
how to draw between lines, perhaps a few of your ABC's, to count to ten.
You learned how to get up and down stairs, how to get around your yard
and immediate neighborhood. You learned how to write a few characters,
how to draw, how to bathe, how to brush your teeth, comb your hair, and
dress. One of the big achievements in learning was how to distinguish your
right from your left when you put on your shoes, how to lace them and
especially how to tie a bow. To accomplish all this learning and memory,
you had to study, to concentrate. You kept on working at it until you were
successful.
All of the learning, concentration studying and memory I have just
mentioned was data which you programmed into your computer brain.
Now that you are older, you daily perform these tasks, but they were not so
simple when you are learning them. The same principle applies in learning,
concentration, studying and memory at any age. Now you are not studying
how to tie your shoelaces, you are studying {name the subject}. But the
same principle applies in learning this subject. You learned by concentration
and thinking logically even before you knew the meaning of the word
"logically." Now that you know the meaning of the word and you have the
interest and the need to learn, it ought to be easier for you if you have the
attitude to broaden your learning.
Since your brain is like a computer, you are storing data into it every
time you study and concentrate. Whatever you put into a computer can, in
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turn, be retrieved from it. Now you are about to take a test, an
examination - written, oral, true-false, essay, multiple choice - it really
doesn't matter. What matters is that it is a test of what you have stored in
your computer brain and how effective is your trained retrievable system.
Since you have placed the data in your computer, you can retrieve it and
you do.
IMPROVING LEARNING SKILLS: The suggestions that I'm telling you
and the guidance and instructions I'm giving you are going directly into the
storehouse of your mind and your subconscious mind causes you to put them
into your own actions to continue improving your ability to remember and
recall everything you learn...
Very often when people are watching television, or any daydreaming,
they don't notice other things going on around them. Have you ever done
that? (Wait for answer.) Good... Then you know you have the ability to
concentrate so profoundly that you become unaware of other events going
on around you... In fact, in the process of going into the hypnotic state you
have shown that you have a really good ability to concentrate... Right now
you are concentrating on what I'm saying... To achieve the hypnotic state of
relaxation, as you have, you use your own ability to concentrate, so you
know that you have good concentration... You are continuing to have more
confidence in your ability to concentrate... The fact that you have been able
to concentrate enough to achieve a hypnotic state of relaxation, indicates
that you also have the ability to concentrate when you are reading and
studying, without being hypnotized...
I'm going to give you some suggestions and instructions now that will
improve your ability to concentrate and your learning skills so much that
your memory automatically keep improving more each day... From now on,
when you want to read, or study, or listen to a lecture or speech, you get
any materials, such as books or writing materials, ready... Then, when you
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are ready to start concentrating, you breathe deeply and exhale slowly three
times, and think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and deeper... As soon as you breathe
deeply and exhale slowly three times and think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and
deeper, you become calm and relaxed...Breathing deeply and exhaling slowly
three times and thinking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and deeper is a signal... Your
subconscious mind responds to that signal and causes you to become calm
and relaxed. Your awareness narrows down to the reading or studying or
listening you want to do... As you concentrate on what you are doing,
outside noises and sounds seem to fade away and your attention will be
directed to the reading, studying, or listening you want to do...You are less
sensitive to surrounding noises or distractions while you are reading or
studying... Your total involvement is devoted to what you are concentrating
on... As you read, study, or listen in that state of calmness and relaxation;
your attention increases and you retain and recall what you studied...
The more you use this procedure to relax and direct your attention to
your reading and studying, the more rapidly your learning skills keep
improving... And the knowledge you absorb by reading, studying, observing,
or listening in this way remains in your conscious mind much longer...
And then becomes available from your subconscious mind more rapidly. You
are able to remember facts, principles, details, theories, and general trends
more perfectly and your memory keeps improving more each day...
You are realizing that you have the ability to remember and recall
what you learn... As I mentioned before your mind is comparable to a
computer... It records everything you see, everything you hear and
experience... And you are capable of remembering and recalling what you
learn...
Some of the material you learn goes into the storehouse of your
subconscious mind... But the information is there and it is available when you
need to recall it... All you need to do is let the subconscious level of your
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mind know you need to recall and it permits the information to come into
the conscious level of your mind whenever you need it...
Have you ever tried to think of the name of someone you know, but
find yourself unable to recall it? When you fail to recall the name right
away, you begin trying harder and that sets up a mental block which keeps
the name from coming into the conscious level of your mind... You finally
quit trying. Then you started doing something else and in a short time, you
suddenly recall the name... It was there in the storehouse of your mind the
entire time, but was blocked until you relaxed your efforts to recall it...
When you started doing something else, you released the tension of trying to
force yourself to recall the name and when you released the tension, it
enabled the name to come into the conscious level of your mind...
So, any time you need to recall material that is in your mind to
answer questions on a test or exam and you do not recall the answers
immediately, just think to yourself: "I know the answer to that question and
I will recall it in a minute or two... Then move on to the next question and
as you are studying the next question or two; all of a sudden you recall the
answer and then you can go back and write it down...
Now you know how to concentrate and your attentiveness will
continue improving... Your ability to recall will improve more each day...
Memories stay in your conscious mind much longer and your ability to bring
information out of the storehouse of your mind more quickly continues
improving.
PASSING TEST AND EXAMS: You have been responding good to the
suggestions and recommendation I've been telling you. You can continue
responding to the instructions I'm telling you now to enable you to take the
test in a relaxed manner remembering and recalling needed information...
These suggestions and instructions are very important and have the effect of
helping you during your future life... Because of the benefit of these
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suggestions your subconscious mind is accepting them and causes you to put
them into your own actions...
From now on, any time you are going to take a test, or examination,
or even a quiz, you breathe deeply and exhale slowly three times and think
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and deeper... As soon as you breathe deeply and exhale
slowly three times and think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and deeper, you become
calm and relaxed...Breathing deeply and exhaling slowly three times and
thinking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and deeper is a signal to immediately become
calm, relaxed and peaceful, the way you are now... You are able to keep
your eyes open... You are able to read questions... You are aware of your
surroundings and you are able to think clearly... You are able to concentrate
on the test, or examination, or quiz many times better than you ever have
before...
In addition to the improved ability to concentrate, you are able to
recall everything you have read and studied to answer the questions
correctly... You recall everything you need to remember to pass the test, or
examination, or quiz with a high score... Your concentration is so good that
you are able to answer the questions rapidly... After completing the test, or
exam, or quiz, you are wide awake, fully alert and feel confident that you
have been successful in answering the questions correctly...
wherever you take a tests, or examinations, or quizzes, you breathe
deeply and exhale slowly three times and think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 deeper and
deeper, you become calm and relaxed... and you always have the wonderful
ability to recall the answers clearly and easily... And it is so. (Count out of
hypnosis and give client “Study, Memory and Concentration” tape)
Chapter 18: Age Regression Case History:
When using age regression, I suggest to the client. You always hear and
understand me no matter where you are or what your age. You always see
me being a very close friend or counselor who you can confide in easily and
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comfortably. You always communicate with me in a manner that you know

I can understand. I ask the client to go back to the very cause of the
problem.
If during regression, the client experiences something that he/she is
not ready to deal with consciously, I suggest, “You will not consciously
remember the incident. When you are ready to deal with the situation and
discuss the incident, it will be at a time when you can discuss it with me or
another professional counselor.”
BETTY’S CASE HISTORY: For the protection of the identity of the
client, I have changed the name and minor historical information concerning
"Betty". Betty came to me with the presenting problem of "being caught up
in a failure cycle." Betty explained that she was continually setting herself
up for failure. She went to college, but did not make it through the first
semester. Her first two marriages had ended in divorce and she was
experiencing problems in her third marriage.
Betty wanted to improve her self-confidence and be set free from her
failure cycle. She wanted to return to college but realized that she had to
overcome her failure problems in order to succeed.
Betty was in therapy for ten sessions over a three month period. In
the first session, she presented the basic problem as mentioned above. I
talked to her about hypnosis; what it was and what it was not. I discussed
several misconceptions and answered the few questions she asked. She was
anxious to be hypnotized and believed it would benefit her.
Upon completion of the suggestibility questionnaire, it was determined
that she was 50/50 on the direct/indirect suggestibility scale. Other
suggestibility exercises indicated that she was highly hypnotizable. I
converted a suggestibility exercise into an induction and followed with
progressive relaxation and deepening procedure. During the first hypnotic
session, I concentrated on suggestions for self confidence and increasing self
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esteem. I knew that more in-depth therapy was required but this was a
beginning.
During the second session, I used the finger response for therapy.
After having the subconscious mind select a "yes" finger and a "no" finger, I
said, "I will not go beyond "yes" and “no” answer, unless I believe it is
important to discuss an area which may be helpful in overcoming your
problem. This will be done only with your consent. Is that okay with you?"
Her "yes” finger floated upward with a jerking movement and remained up
until I told her to let her finger float back down. This indicated that this
was a subconscious response rather than a conscious decision to lift the
finger.
Her answer to the question "Is there any emotional reason why you
tend to fail?" was "yes". Are you identifying with someone else, perhaps a
parent or a significant other? "No", she replied. Are you using failure to
punish yourself? "Yes." Are you using failure to punish someone else? "Yes."
Is there any problem concerning sex which contributes to your problem?
"Yes." Other questions were “No.” I then asked, “Is it okay with your
subconscious mind for you to succeed?” She replied, "Yes."
We discussed some of the above mentioned questions and she locked in
on the question concerning sex. She mentioned that during high school she
had a number of sexual experiences with different boys. As friends had told
her that the first time was painful, she was surprised that her first
intercourse was not painful.
Being raised in a North Alabama strict Bible belt religious atmosphere,
she was told by her parents that good girls did not engage in sexual
activities. Those girls who did were bad girls "They were no good and would
never amount to anything." She was told this time and time again, she
experienced a lot of guilt because of her many sexual experiences. During
her teens and throughout her three marriages, she seldom experienced a
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climax during intercourse; another example of failure.

She came to the next session very agitated. She explained that she
had become very upset at seeing an uncle at her father's funeral. As the
service proceeded, she remembered that her uncle had sexually abused her
when she was seven. This was the first time she had consciously
remembered that incident since shortly after it occurred. Though she could
not remember any other incidents, she had a feeling that the remembered
experience was not the first or only time.
She requested an age regression session, so she could learn more about
the experience. In doing age regression, I always suggest that the client will
always hear and understand no matter where they are or what their age.
They will always communicate with me in a manner that I can understand.
During this session, Betty regressed to the night when she was seven
years old. When her uncle came to her bed and began to touch her, if felt
good, but when he penetrated her, it hurt and she began to cry. After he
had completed the act, he told her to tell no one. He said, "This is our
secret and you must tell no one."
During other sessions, she regressed back to several sexual encounters
with her uncle which had always been pleasant, but confusing. The earliest
regression went back to a time when she was six months old and her uncle
was giving her a bath. During this bath, he touched her sexually. (Now can
a person remember what happened a six months, I do not know the answer
to that question. It may be real, it may be symbolic, and it maybe false.
False memories will be discussed in Chapter 40: False Memories: Truth Or
Consequence.)
Using the terminology of Dr. Daniel A. Zelling of the Ohio Institute of
Medical Hypnosis, the Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) was the sexual touch of
Betty by her uncle at six months. The Symptom Producing Event (SPE)
occurred when the uncle raped her at age seven and the Symptom
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Intensifying Event (SIE) occurred when she became sexually active as a

teenager. These experiences produced guilt, and the guilt produced the need
for punishment, and the form of her punishment was her failure cycle. (For
more information on the “Triple Sensitizing Events” go to Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools”.)
In another session, Betty experienced anger toward her mother for
allowing her to be alone with her uncle on many occasions when she was
young. She felt guilty for having enjoyed the experiences up to the rape at
age seven.
I asked her to look at those years through the eyes of an adult. At the
time of the incidents, her mother trusted her uncle to care for little Betty.
Remember the mind set of the forties, no respected family would have
anything like that happen, so her mother would never think of her brother
sexually abusing Betty.
While in hypnosis, I had the adult Betty take the little girl Betty into
her arms and console her. Betty could forgive the little girl for feeling guilt
about the experience and at the same time forgive her mother for not
suspecting her uncle of wrong. As she was able to forgive the little girl of
the past, she felt better as an adult. As she forgave her mother, she was
free to develop a more loving relationship with her mother.
I then had her experience God taking adult Betty, little girl Betty and
Betty's mother into His loving arms and forgiving each of them. This was a
very meaningful experience for Betty. As she was able to forgive herself and
her mother, she was able to experience God's forgiveness. As she was
forgiven, she no longer felt guilty; not feeling guilty, she had no further need
to be punished, therefore she was free to succeed.
Betty returned to college, earned her degree and the last time I heard
from her she had a good close caring relationship with her husband and
mother.
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As past life regression is closely related to age regression, I will discuss

it now. I do not use past-life regression in my practice of hypnotherapy. I
mention it here because it is associated with age regression and many people
have been helped by the therapy. As I do not personally believe in
reincarnation, I have an explanation for the experience that satisfies me.
Carl Jung wrote about the "Collective Unconscious," which I interpret
as memory passed on to us by our heritage. Within each person’s
subconscious mind is a history of his/her ancestors. This explanation may or
may not be what Jung meant, but he is not here to tell me I am wrong, so
this I believe. In past-life regression, a person under hypnosis may relive an
experience or a memory from one of his ancestors which is stored in the
client's subconscious mind. (For more of my interpretations of Jung’s
“Collective Unconscious” and past life regression go to Chapter 11: Carl
Jung.)
Chapter 19: Pain Control and Enhancing Healing With Judy Hamilton Case
History:
In using hypnosis to reduce and eliminate pain, it must be
remembered that pain is a warning that something is wrong. Except in
emergencies, I require a physician’s referral before working with a client for
pain reduction. I use self-hypnosis to relieve pain for myself when I would
use a non-prescription medicine. If I were to have recurring pain, such as a
headache, I would go to my doctor for a check-up. I have used self-hypnosis
to reduce and eliminate pain from a turned ankle, but I had it checked by
my doctor to make sure there were no breaks or ligament damage.
Hypnosis should be used in conjunction with proper medical care but not in
place of proper care.
As a hospital chaplain, I am often asked to help a patient deal with
pain. I have found that individuals from a very religious or charismatic
background respond well to hypnosis that employs religious language. If
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religious imagery is not indicated, I use other pain reduction techniques. I

explain relaxation therapy, visualization and self hypnosis. During the
hypnotic suggestions, I do not use the word "pain" as the word may increase
the patient's awareness of pain. (Refer to “Chapter 29: Cancer Patient: Bee’s
Case History” for “Visualize Jesus,” “Pain Evaporating as Steam,” “Putting
Pain in a Box Attaching It To A Balloon”. For Glove Anesthesia go to
Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts.)
Hypnosis to Enhance Healing: The use of hypnosis with proper medical
care enhances the healing process. A SCRIPT FOR HEALING: As you are
preparing your mind to assist you in the healing process, imagine yourself
well and doing the things you enjoy doing. As you hold that image in your
mind, your subconscious mind begins to activate the healing process of your
body. St. Paul wrote, "You can be transformed by the renewal of your
mind." By visualizing yourself healed, you give your subconscious mind a
model to work for.
Take time each day to sit down or lie down, close your eyes, take
three deep breaths, count from one to five and say "deeper and deeper".
Progressively relax your body, deepen the experience as you have been
taught, and give yourself healing suggestions. Concentrate your mind on
good, uplifting thoughts of health, happiness, and joy. Image your body as
healthy and your subconscious mind causes your health to keep improving
each day.
Concentrate on the area of your body where healing is desired. As you
concentrate on that area of your body, you feel a healing warmth flowing
through that area. The healing process of your body is working right now to
bring about healing. Your body is responding to restore, to rejuvenate and
to strengthen your body. Day by day in every way you are getting healthier
and healthier.
JUDY HAMILTON’ CASE HISTORY: In early April 1997, Judy
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Hamilton was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her left kidney. This
took her totally by surprise as she had gone to the doctor for a totally
different reason. During testing for the other problem, the tumor showed
up. The doctor said that the only treatment for this type of cancer was
removal of the kidney. Surgery was scheduled for two weeks from that
date. She was very distraught and despondent at this point as it came on so
suddenly. She said, “I knew that I needed a boost.”
Being a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, she knew that the mind is a
powerful tool so she tried self-hypnosis, but she needed help from another
hypnotherapist. She states, “At this time, I called upon Chaplain Paul
Durbin. He had previously worked with me to successfully stop smoking. I
trust him implicitly. I got a referral from my doctor, who was a little
apprehensive and said he had never given a referral for hypnosis before.
Paul and I scheduled a session and he taped the session for me. He included
in the suggestions pre-op and suggestions for healing. He told me to listen
to the tape at least once a day for the week that I had before the surgery
was to take place and then for a time afterward for healing.”
As she had taken two hypnosis courses that I taught, I reminded her
of the benefits of hypnosis before and after surgery.
The value of hypnosis before surgery are:
1. Reduce anxiety.
2. Induce relaxation.
3. Educate the patient about the operation protocol.
4. Improve the patient's self-confidence.
5. Induce hypnoanesthesia in patients where traditional chemoanesthesia is
not needed or contraindicated
6. Reduce the dosage of any required chemoanesthesia.
7. Reduce bleeding or other actions that the patient can take to assist the
surgery.
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8. Give posthypnotic suggestions of postoperative comfort, relaxation, lack of

discomfort and healing.
Hypnosis following surgery:
1. Facilitate recovery through direct suggestions of compliance with
treatment and relaxation.
2. Increase the patient's active involvement in recovery and healing.
3. Manage postoperative pain and avoid extensive use of chemical analgesics.
4. Manage anxiety and boredom through creative use of hypnosis,
relaxation and imagery.
5. Improve the functioning of the immune system through imagery,
visualization and direct suggestion, thereby reducing the possibility of
postoperative complications, such as infection and secondary illnesses.
[Robert G. Meyer, Practical Clinical Hypnosis, p259]
6. Can help your recovery by visualizing yourself healed and doing the
activities you enjoy. At the University of Texas, a study showed that
patient’s incisions healed faster when patients relaxed and visualized their
recovery before and after surgery. [These findings were published by Carol
Holden-Lund, RN, Ph.D. in Research in Nursing and Health in 1988].
7. Save money on medical bills.
Judy had surgery on Thursday morning. By that evening she was
awake and alert. The next morning she was sitting in a chair and by
Friday afternoon she was walking the hall of the hospital. The surgeon was
amazed at the progress, mobility and recuperation that was taking place. He
even stopped me in the parking lot of the hospital and told him how
amazed he was. The nurses said how great she was doing and one other
doctor that stopped by to check on her said she thought Judy was a pre-op
patient instead of a post-op patient until she saw the bandages.
The wound stayed dry and clean with no infection and no blood was
administered to her during or after surgery. The pain medication that was
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allowed her was used minimally for a couple of days and was then
discontinued. She was released from the hospital on the following Tuesday,
five days later which was sooner than expected and she continued to heal
beautifully each day with little discomfort. The Pathologist report revealed
that the cancer was contained within the kidney and no follow up
treatment was needed. She said to one of the nurses, “I had a lot of people
praying for me and I know God responded with the help of the doctor,
Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, other friends and myself. I know hypnosis as an
adjunct to medical help is an invaluable ‘tool’ in the process of surgery and
healing and many other areas of life. I know the power of suggestion has
helped me trough this so successfully.”
Judy wrote a letter to Mr. Fred Young, Jr. President and CEO of
Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital and my immediate supervisor which
contain much of the information written above. She concluded the letter, "I
know that GOD and the Surgeon played a most important role in all of this.
But, I also know that the mind is a powerful tool. I feel that you have an
invaluable person in Chaplain Paul Durbin on your staff. I feel that the
hypnosis sessions had a lot to do with the ease with which I pulled through
all this. I just wanted to let you know that I think that Paul Durbin is an
asset to your hospital as Chaplain and Hypnotherapist. "
Mr Young's answer, "Thank you for your letter of May 2, 1997, I am
glad to hear that you are progressing well. I too continue to be impressed
with the wonderful work that Chaplain Durbin does in the area of hypnosis.
Our medical community continues to partner with him on many occasions
for these type of services and we continue to experience the things that you
described in your letter. Thank you again for taking the time to write and
for making Methodist your hospital. Sincerely, Fred Young, President.” (To
this day, Judy is healthy woman, practicing hypnotherapy part time as she
continues in her job with a local bank.)
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PRE AND POST-OPERATIVE SCRIPTS: Pre and Post-Operative

Scrips: At night, you relax and sleep soundly. You feel relaxed and
comfortable in every way for your surgery. Imagine your body limp and
relaxed. The more relaxed you are the better you are prepared for surgery.
You know you're being closely observed by skilled doctors and you can safely
relax. The anesthesia is administered carefully and safely. The more relaxed
you are, the less amount of anesthesia you need for the surgery and this is
good for you . . . The operation is performed skillfully. The body's protective
system remains active and can keep the wound dry, clean, free of infection,
minimize bleeding, reduce discomfort and promote healing. By letting your
body flow along with the surgery, you are working in cooperation with the
surgeon.
Now focus on the way your body is to behave after surgery. You first
awaken in the Recovery Room. When you awaken after surgery, you
awaken peacefully as though awakening from a long, peaceful, health
restoring sleep. As you become more alert, focus on alerting your defense
system to promote healing. Your natural body processes are keeping the
wound dry, clean, free of infection, minimizing bleeding and reducing
discomfort.
You have prompt and regular bowel movement and prompt and
regular urination. Concentrate on a rapid return to normal functioning
and to a stable and comfortable blood pressure. Imagine getting back to a
healthy, happy lifestyle as your body heals. You feel yourself getting hungry,
feeling thirsty, going to the toilet. Think about getting back to a healthy
lifestyle as your body heals.
Thus far you've thought about the way your body is to behave during
your stay in the hospital. Now I want you to think about the future. I want
you to imagine the things you enjoy doing, without discomfort or worry,
once you've recovered. That's the reason you've come for surgery. You've
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come to repair a part of your body that is a problem for you so you can do
the things you want to do, without fear and concern.
Before you come out of the hypnotic state, let's take the time to
review your exercise. The first step focuses on the way your body is to
behave during surgery; the second, on the way your body is to behave after
surgery.
In the first step, you think about the way your body is to behave
during surgery. It is to be relaxed and limp, except for the defense system.
Your defense system is alert in order to keep the wound dry, clean, and free
of infection, and to minimize bleeding and reduce discomfort. Although the
anesthesiologist provides whatever amount of anesthesia your body requires,
you can make it easier by letting your body know the way to behave; help it
flow along with the surgery so you and the surgeon work together to cure
your illness.
The second step focuses on recovery. Your defense system is alert to
keep the wound dry, clean and free of infection and to minimize bleeding
and reduce discomfort as the healing takes place. Imagine yourself as you
regain all normal functioning, your blood pressure rapidly stabilizes and
returns to normal. You feel your appetite return. You get thirsty. You
sense yourself going to the toilet. You feel eager to move around. Each time
before you come out of trance think about the future: the real reason for
going through surgery . . . Imagine yourself doing things that you want to
do once surgery is over and you have recovered.
As you rest peacefully and calmly, you know God constantly watches
over you and you are able to place your trust in His infinite goodness. Now,
you are ready to sleep, you sleep soundly and wake up sound in body, sound
in mind, sound in spirit and sound in health. You progressively improve;
physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Day by day in every way, you are
getting better and better, healthier and healthier, stronger and stronger.
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PROTECTIVE ANTS. (Adapted from Ronald A. Havens and Catherine

Walters, Hypnotherapy Scripts, p132) There is a tree in Africa that has a
special relationship with a particular kind of ant. Those ants spend their
entire lives living on that tree. They build their nests out of its leaves, they
only drink the particular kind of sap that tree produces and secretes and
they eat the special tiny berries it grows. They never leave that tree because
that tree provides everything they need.
This type of ant is the only insect that does live on that tree.
Whenever any other insect begins to crawl upon it or lands on one of its
leaves, the ant sentries send out an alarm and all the other ants come
running. They attack those foreign bodies and either destroy them or drive
them away and in this way they protect the tree from invaders that might
attack it or destroy it. They save the tree and the tree saves them.
We have within our bodies an immune system that functions much
like the ants who take care of that tree, automatically and continuously,
rushing to do those things needed to heal and protect. As the ants protect
the tree, your body's immunity and healing capabilities are working rapidly
to bring healing to your body. This is already working in your body, because
you want it to work...and your subconscious mind is cooperating with your
conscious desire to be healthy and strong. Your entire organism is
responding and your health continues to improve.
All of those processes function by receiving directions from your
subconscious mind...Thus, the more positive your subconscious mind is
programmed, the healthier your body becomes...That's one of the reasons it
is so important for you to develop a positive, loving attitude about yourself...
So, each day your self-confidence, your self-acceptance and your self-
esteem will keep increasing, and you continue realizing more and more your
own self-worth.
William James, the well-known psychologist, wrote, "The greatest
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discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner

attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."
Bernie S. Siegel, M.D. said, "My own day-to-day clinical experience
has convinced me that the state of mind changes the state of the body by
working through the central nervous system, the endocrine system and the
immune system...Peace of mind sends the body a 'live' message. Thus, all
healing is scientific, even though science can't yet explain exactly how the
unexpected occurs."
That is backed up by a statement in the Bible that says, "You can be
transformed by the renewing of your mind." By properly using your mind,
you can have a good effect on your health.
Now just allow your subconscious mind to cause you to relax more
peacefully and comfortably. As you relax, you allow your body to keep
improving physically. The organs, glands and normal functions of the body
begin to work properly.
As you feel better about yourself, you eat the foods that are right for
your body. You eat foods that cause your body to be healthy and strong.
You exercise according to what your doctor suggests for you. Exercise helps
you reduce the effect of stress on your body and improves your health. As
you relax, your subconscious mind is giving direction to each cell of your
body to function in unison and harmony with other cells to eliminate
harmful cells by your natural body processes to bring healing to your body.
Imagine and visualize your body healthy. The wise old man of
Proverbs said, "Whatsoever a person thinks in his/her heart, so is he/she."
The images you hold in your mind you tend to become.
As you relax and use your imagination, you increase your natural body
healing chemicals and endorphins which bring healing and comfort to your
body. You are learning to use your mind and imagination along with proper
medical care to bring healing to your body.
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Chapter 20: Hypnosis in Dentistry:

HYPNOSIS IN DENTISTRY: (Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Karen Golob and
Artie McMurtrey): (For more information on hypnosis an dentistry, I refer
you to the late Dr. R. D. Longacre’s book, Visualization and Guided Imagery
for Pain Management. Dr Longacre was my teacher and friend. Dr.
Longacre’s material is included by permission of his wife, Sheila Spears-
Longacre) Hypnosis can be put to positive use with dental patients for
reduction of fear, anxiety, analgesia and anaesthesia. Before working with a
dental patient, the hypnotherapist should require a referral from the client’s
dentist, oral surgeon, or orthodontist.
Uses of hypnosis for dental patients:
1. Elimination of the patient's tension, anxiety or fear of pain and related
discomfort.
2. Accustoming the patient to orthodontic or prosthetic appliances.
3. Maintenance of the patient's comfort during long and arduous periods of
dental work.
4. Modification of unwanted dental habits, such as bruxism which is the
unconscious grinding of teeth.
5. Reduction of anesthesia or analgesia during dental procedures.
6. Substitution for, or in combination, with general anesthesia.
7. Prevention of gagging and nausea.
8. Control of salivary flow.
9. Control of bleeding.
10. Postoperative analgesia. (R. D. Longacre. p. 95-96)
PRECAUTIONS: The major precaution for the use of hypnosis in
dentistry is removing pain without knowing the cause of the pain. Pain is a
notification that something is wrong so to reduce or eliminate pain without
a proper dental examination may result in more harm than good for the
client. In emergency situations, the hypnotherapist can help the client reduce
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discomfort, but should advise the client to see a dentist as soon as possible.
One of the most troublesome problems that some dental patients have
is that of gagging as soon as anything is inserted into the month. Normally
this gagging response occurs only if an object is inserted deep into the
month. It is a natural reaction to protect against choking. In most cases
the trigger area for gaging is not reached in normal dental procedures. For a
few people, this trigger maybe the lips, or the tongue, or some other area.
With hypnosis, this problem can be reduced or eliminated.
Bleeding too much or too little, such as with dry sockets, are
problems which can be avoided with hypnosis. For too much bleeding,
suggestions such as: the blood is flowing around the extraction area . . . allow
just the right amount of blood to flow to the area so that the area heals
naturally and normally. For too little bleeding, the suggestion may be: blood
is flowing to the socket to allow the right amount of blood to the area so
that the area heals naturally and normally.
Teeth grinding, which is technically called, “bruxism” can create
several problems. An estimated one in 20 adults and three in 20 children
unconsciously grind their teeth at night. The sound of bruxism may disturb
spouses and others, but it has a far more distressing effect on the sleeper.
Nocturnal grinding can exert pounds of pressure per square inch on the
surfaces of teeth. It can be rough not only on teeth but on the supporting
bone, the gums and jaw joint. Bruxism is attributed to the release of tension
from emotional stress and from an unconscious effort to correct
irregularities of the chewing surfaces of the teeth. They grind away to
eliminate a spot that is too high or to find a comfortable place to fit the
upper and lower teeth together. A person can be helped to overcome teeth
grinding by teaching the person self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques. If
needs be releasing techniques and/or ideomotor questioning can be used to
help the client release the need to grind their teeth.
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To help a patient adapt to a dental prosthetic device, induce hypnosis

and then give strong and positive end result imagery suggestions. These
suggestions should reinforce how comfortable the patient is with the
appliance, how nice they look and how confident they feel when wearing the
appliance. Post-hypnotic suggestions should be directed at how comfortable
the appliance is in one's daily life.
In an email, Karen Golob wrote: Dear Rev. Durbin: I received a phone
call from a new client that was referred to me by my personal Dentist. My
Dentist's had told me that this person had a gag reflex problem and that
it's been impossible to take x-rays and perform the proper dental work on
him. The new client is a very successful person who is extremely analytical.
Since I've never worked with this disorder, I did my research and could
only find a small amount of info in the Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions.
Do you have any suggestions as to where I can read about this and learn
the appropriate techniques for working with this new client? I would
appreciate any information you can help me with. Thanks, Karen Golob
I sent some material to include "Hand to Face for Therapy" that I have
used working with a variety of clients for releasing the problem and
referred her to Artie McMurtery who works with a dentist and he
responded to her request as follows:
GAG REFLEX CONTROL - WAKING HYPNOSIS:"(Artie McMurtrey):
Tell them with authority: I am now going to put a pencil in your hand and
I want you to hold onto it firmly and continue to do it and as long as you
are holding this pencil you will not have the urge to gag at anytime and
nothing that I do or the dentist does in your mouth will cause you to Gag.
#2 Waking Hypnosis: I want you to close your eyes and I'm going to count
from 5 to 1 and when I get to the number 1, you no longer have the urge
or need to gag. Gag. #3 of course you can also do this in Hypnosis. It
always works but it must be done after rapport has been established and of
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course with authority."

Hi Paul: I received the mail you sent to me, today. I also saw the
addition to "Hypnosis in Dentistry" on "Gag Reflex" by Artie. It does my
heart good to know that this very important information is on your website.
My "gagging" client is doing extremely well. The "Hand to Face" technique
was one I actually used on my client on his first session. I used it after I had
brought him out of hypnosis, to show him how he could use the finger
spread, and as his fingers touched his forehead he would automatically go
into hypnosis again. I suggested that this was self-hypnosis and anytime he
used this "hand to face" technique he would again feel relaxed and calm and
at that time he could say to himself a positive suggestion/and or an
affirmation that he could create himself that reflected his elimination of
gagging when brushing his teeth or at the dentist.
I can't thank you enough for helping me and taking the time to send
me the information. I have already given my thanks and appreciation to
Artie and I hope we can share our knowledge in the future. Thanks again for
your time, Paul, and God Bless. Karen
Follow up to Artie McMurtrey and Chaplain Durbin: Hi Artie:
Yesterday (3/15), I had a 2nd session with my gag reflex client. He had
canceled the follow-up appt. due to nausea (coincidental?...I wonder). He
then couldn't come in the next week due to his heavy work load. So, it was
20 days since our first session. He felt the suggestions were fading, although
he was not gagging any more when he brushed his teeth and could brush for
a longer duration. I reinforced in waking hypnosis and in trance all that the
first session had accomplished and then some. I had him image himself at
home brushing his teeth and at the Dentist's office without any gagging, etc.
The pen held firmly is his favorite technique. I emphasized the importance of
deep breathing and taught him how to effectively inhale relaxation and
exhale his stress. I had requested that his Dentist send me children's size
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x-rays (the kind that the dental technicians actually use) and adult size,
also. I intend to have him place the children's size one in his mouth, during
hypnosis. If that goes well, then I'll graduate him to the adult size. Any
ideas on this?
I mentioned to him that I had wondered if his relationship with his
Dentist was comfortable and did he have a good rapport with him. His
answer...."A few years ago he asked me to do some research for him, which I
didn't want to do...it was about that time that my gagging accelerated in
his office." He very quickly said, "but, I've had the gagging problem for
years, even before that." I asked him if he would like to find out if perhaps
there was anything else that he was not consciously aware of that might be
causing this gagging and, he said he was sure there was not. As long as he is
resistant to any type of regression, I need to leave it alone. That's the scoop
for now! Karen. (Durbin: agree)
Chapter 21: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): By Jack Artie McMurtrey:
(I have worked with a number of IBS patients, but my colleague, Artie
McMurtrey has done a study on IBS while working in the physician’s office.
The physician referred his IBS patients to Artie, with good results. This
chapter is based upon Artie’s work with IBS patients.) IBS is a disturbance
of the colon where patients experience symptoms of crampy abdominal pain,
bloating, excessive flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea
and constipation. It accounts for about half of all the visits to
gastroenterologists and affects approximately 10% of the population. Stress
is involved and the symptoms of IBS also cause stress because they are very
uncomfortable and inconvenient. Stress probably makes it worse and the
symptoms of the disease make the stress worse making it a never ending
cycle.
Summary of Presentation: Hypnotherapy for the treatment of IBS is
very nonspecific as it is manifested differently in different people. This
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information is only intended as a guide because the therapist must develop

individualized treatment.
Case History: It is absolutely essential to take a detailed case history
even though the referring specialist has made the diagnosis of IBS.
The following should be determined:
1. When symptoms first appeared?
2. What makes the situation better or worse?
3. How severe is the pain (on a scale of 1-10,1 no pain, 10 most severe
pain)?
4. What does it stop the patient from doing?
5. What steps have been taken in the past to solve the problem?
6. What Medications do you use?
7. Establish the patient's recreational interests. (Do they still experience IBS
in recreational situations?).
8. Does the patient suffer from lack of confidence?
9. Are there any other complicating symptoms?
10. Family history.
Establish A Treatment Plan:
For doing this the therapist should consider what techniques might be
applicable for the patients own personal needs.
1. Is the pain a problem? (Utilize glove anesthesia protocol)
2. Is the patient afraid to go out? (Has the patient lost bowel control in
public?)
3. Is the patient sleeping well? (Good indication of anxiety level)
4. Is there any warning (prodrome) to attacks? (Find what triggers attack
and intercept it)
Multimodel approach to treatment:
1. Patient's "homework", Self-hypnosis.
2. Analysis & Dissociation.
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3. Re-framing the anxiety and the behavior problem.

4. Direct suggestion.
5. EGO strengthening.
6. Consider ways of making the patient feel good about themselves.
7. Consider the need for "healing white light" script.
When improvement has been noted, it is always useful to use pseudo
orientation in time to prepare the patient for discharge. Ego strengthening
should be "client driven" especially following improvement and a
fractionation technique should be employed to make best possible use of the
improvement already gained.
Preparation for “White Warm Comforting Ball” (A script for helping
those with IBS):
1) Induce trance and deepen.
2) Set up ideomotor response for "yes".
3) Establish glove anesthesia.
WHITE WARM COMFORTING BALL: (Artie McMurtrey with some
adaptation by Chaplain Durbin): A white warm glowing ball full of purifying
light begins to form over your head. A beautiful, healthy, cleansing white
mist. You see or image it as good, positive, healthy, full of comfort and
security. It slowly descends around your head and now, completely
surrounds the top of your head. As you take your next breath, you begin to
breathe this wonderful white mist into your body. As it slowly enters your
nostrils you now immediately begin to breathe easier. This wonderful
healthy, beautiful, cleansing white mist begins to heal all the tissues in your
body; as it slowly begins to coat your throat, moving through your body.
Moving now, into your stomach and completely coating the lining, beginning
the healing process immediately. Now slowly the mist flows down into your
intestines coating the inside with this white wonderful, protective mist. A
coating that protects your intestines from all forms of irritation. Now
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moving slowly into the colon and thoroughly coating and protecting it from
further irritants. As the mist begins to leave the colon, your breath pulls it
back up into the colon and intestines, to re-coat everything again, doubling
the wonderful new line of protection for your colon in the future. Your
intestines and colon are protected against any food which has caused
irritation in the past. Now leaving the colon well protected, the mist flows
back into the intestines thoroughly coating to prevent any further irritation
in the future. The mist gives you protection that lasts and lasts. Now the
white mist begins to move back into the stomach, once again recoating the
entire surface, doubling that wonderful protection that will last and last.
The mist now travels back through your nostrils, growing back into that
warm ball of protective mist. Back surrounding your entire head, slowly
raising from your head, slowly dissolving away, leaving your entire digestive
system, completely coated and safe from further irritation.
CONCLUSION ON IBS: Through the case histories, it appeared that the
primary origin to IBS was due to continual self-perceived stress, tension and
anxiety. Once this vicious cycle was broken through the use of hypnotherapy,
the subject's became better. The extent of improvement depended upon their
motivational use of hypnosis and whether or not their self-belief's had
changed. Continued referrals from the MD have lea to a fine-tuning of this
protocol. Continued use of these chosen outcome measures, easily
demonstrates to the subjects, their improvement through the use of
hypnotherapy.
Chapter 22: Obstetrics with Cindy’s Hypnosis for Childbirth Story:
One should only work with an OB patient by referral from her OB-
Gyn physician. Work with the patients includes not only pain management,
but attitudes toward pregnancy and delivery. (For more information on
hypnosis for OB-GYB , I refer you to Dr. R. D. Longacre’s book, Visualization
and Guided Imagery for Pain Management and Marie Mongan book,
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Hypnobirthing.)
Uses of Hypnosis in Obstetrics:
(1) Reduction or eradication of fear, tension and pain before, during and
after labor and delivery.
(2) Reduction of the amount of pain medication to maintain patients
comfort.
(3) Allows the mother to be conscious and cooperative with the physician.
(4) Allows the mother to speed up or slow down her labor and premature
labor may be prevented by hypnotic suggestion.
(5) Reduces chemoanalgesia and anesthesia or completely eliminates them.
(6) Reduces postoperative nausea, vomiting, anoxia and other side effects of
chemical anesthetics. (7) Unlike medication, places no extra stress on the
circulatory, respiratory, hepatic or renal system.
(8) Produces resistance to fatigue.
(9) Controls painful uterine contractions.
(10) Shortens labor time by approximately two to four hours for most
mothers.
(11) Eases delivery.
(12) Requires no elaborate education.
(13) Allows for quicker healing.
(14) Hypnotic rapport can be transferred to a nurse, husband or other
individuals participating in the birthing process to assist the patient using
self-hypnosis.
Precautions: When working with the client for hypnotic birthing, you
should avoid using words like: “Labor pains”, “Pain medication”, “This will
hurt a little” and “Are your pains getting worse.”
It is better to use works like: “Let yourself relax deeper with each
contraction.” “Are your contractions getting closer?” “With each contraction
imagine yourself drafting deeper down, deeper relaxed. (If medication is
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requested, you can say) “Allow yourself to relax even deeper with each
contraction and as you receive medication to help you with the childbirth.”
The client should be assured that if there is need for chemical
anaesthesia that it will be available to her upon her request and that her
physician has been informed concerning use of chemical anaesthesia if
needed. The client should feel free to ask for chemical anaesthesia if needed
without feeling guilty
The goal or purpose of hypnosis during childbirth is to minimize
unnecessary pain or discomfort for the mother, not eliminate or circumvent
traditional medical care and treatment.
SIX SESSION PROTOCOL: HYPNOSIS FOR CHILDBIRTH
PREPARATION: FIRST SESSION: (Client must have a referral from her
physician.)
1. Have client fill out Information Form and complete Suggestibility
Questionnaire.
2. If husband or significant other comes with her, have him fill out
Suggestibility Questionnaire. Recommend that husband/significant other
come for each session or at least come for the last three sessions.
3. Follow usual first session information as to what hypnosis is and is not,
allow any questions, get information from client as to expectations and
desires. Inform client that chemical anesthesia will be available if needed
and it is ok to request it if needed.
4. Go over the following information with client and give “hand out” for
her and her physician.
5. Recommend a music time for the baby. (Get speaker to put on mother’s
stomach and play good music for the baby.)
6. Do suggestibility exercises and convert to induction.
7. Regular first session protocol for trigger mechanism, deepening of
hypnotic state and teach relaxation exercise and self-hypnosis.
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8. Scripts for Session 1:

CALM AND RELAXED (Refer to Chapter 8 Hypnotherapy Scripts)
THE SETTING SUN PAIN METAPHOR: Refer to Chapter 8 Hypnotherapy
Scripts)
GLOVE ANESTHESIA: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
9. Give handouts for “Session 1" and tape “Stress Reduction and Increasing
Self-Confidence)
SESSION TWO:
1. Update conversation with client and if husband/significant other is
present, inform him that he will be asked to do the induction and give
suggestions at next session.
2. “20 - 1 Induction” (Refer to Chapter 5: Inductions)
3. Scripts for Session 2:
THE YARDSTICK FOR DEEPENING: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools)
HYPNOTIC NATURAL CHILDBIRTH IMAGERY: Now feel yourself
relaxing deeper and even deeper... And as you go deeper and deeper relaxed
you are able to picture and imagine the marvelous joy of childbirth. Allow
yourself to enjoy every moment, so peaceful, so content, so very calm,
tranquil... You are recognizing and realizing how wonderful your birthing
experience is for you and your baby. Just relaxing deeper and even deeper.
You feel how wonderful your birthing experience is. Your baby in now within
you developing and growing preparing for entry into this world. Let
yourself, allow yourself to feel and imagine your baby smiling looking at you
with love and adoration... Feel your baby snuggling in your arms... so
content, soft looking into your eyes with love and adoration... Just love your
baby. The baby can feel your emotions even now so feel love, care and joy
for your baby. Feel that love and allow your baby to feel it also. (The baby
can also experience the love of the father by the father placing his hand or
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hands on the area of the mother above the baby and feeling love, care and
joy for the baby.)
Your child's birth is going to be a completely natural event in your
life... Childbirth is a joyful experience and a perfectly natural process of your
body and mind. Visualize and feel yourself relaxing during childbirth... So
courageous, so confident, so strong and deeply relaxed.
Now imagine that you are giving birth to your baby... Realizing that
you are not actually giving birth at this time, but you are just practicing for
when the time is right, so just imagine how wonderful it is. One group of
muscles in the womb relaxing so baby can go farther down... other muscles
working to push baby out... All the muscles working together in perfect
harmony... easily and naturally. Imagine yourself feeling so very good, so
healthy, strong, confident in your ability to give birth to a healthy baby full
of peace, joy and relaxation. You are recognizing and realizing that the work
of childbirth is as easy and natural as any other process of your body.
As you go deeper and deeper relaxed you can imagine and hear your
baby's first cry. You are alert when your baby is born.. You are deeply
relaxed and hear your baby's first cry... You are very relaxed... peaceful, calm
and composed... You are looking forward to the wonderful joy of giving
birth.
I'm going to let you rest for a moment... relaxing deeper and even
deeper... just relaxing and enjoying the warmth and love of your baby... See
your baby's beautiful eyes... feel your baby's soft pink (dark) skin... Imagine
your baby in your arms. You are a wonderful, loving and caring mother... A
perfect mother in every way...
INTERACTING WITH YOUR BABY THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY:
(Given to client while in hypnosis and she is given a printed copy)
A. Learn relaxation techniques and practice them daily — baby needs peace
too.
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B. “Play” with baby physically — shake, shake, shake (gently); rub, rub, rub
(gently); pat, pat, pat (gently), squeeze, squeeze, squeeze (gently); press,
press, press (gently).
C. Use guided imagery and visualization. (Scripts provided).
D. Carry on conversations with baby — say affirmations, feel love for your
baby. The baby can experience emotions so have lots of good feelings about
your baby.
E. Massage your abdomen with lukewarm water.
F. Play soothing music — ocean, birds, wind, soft piano, guitar, madrigals,
flute, harp, etc..
G. Have family and friends greet and interact with baby.
H. Put yourself in the baby’s frame of reference — how wholesome are the
surrounding noises, voices, attitudes, emotions, foods, temperatures, air,
odors?
4. 1 Up To 20 -- Coming Out of hypnosis: (Refer to Chapter 5: Inductions)
5. Give handouts for “Session 2" and tape “Pain Control and Enhancing
Healing”
SESSION THREE:
1. Update conversation with client and husband/significant other.
2. Have husband/significant other practice hypnosis (demonstrate glove
anesthesia and other techniques and suggestions) with client. Take note
while he works with client. After the hypnosis session with client, go over
with husband/significant other suggestions for improving techniques or
suggestions.
3. Therapist helps the client to return to the hypnotic state, uses “Breathing
induction” and introduce client and husband/client to the wrist squeeze
technique for deepening.
4. Counting Your Breath Induction (Refer to Chapter 5: Inductions):
5. Scripts for Session 3:
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PREGNANCY/CHILDBIRTH: (Adapted From Teresa Temper Script ):

Take a slow gentle breath. Feel the wonderful, peaceful relaxation entering
your body with each gentle breath in. With each gentle breath in and every
beat of your heart, feel the positive relaxation entering your body...
peaceful... confidence. So relaxed and sure of yourself and your ability to
deliver a perfectly healthy baby easily... wonderfully.. peaceful. With each
breath you exhale, all myths you've ever heard in the past about labor are
exiting with each breath. Leaving your body, mind and spirit free. Free to
accept the facts that a woman delivering a baby is a very natural, very
wonderful experience of life. This experience for you is filled with joy and
peace. When it is time for your beautiful, healthy baby to enter this world,
your baby enters into a joyful... peaceful... calm environment... because you
have relaxed and enjoyed the pregnancy and the preparation for the birth
of this baby who is already loved so deeply and completely. A wonderful
extension of you filled with your love and joy and peace. Your baby is calm
and peaceful and full of love for you as well. I want both you and your baby
to feel this love and joy right now. Experience the love and joy. Feel the
bond.
At this moment you are one exchanging love and joy. Freely giving...
enjoying the wonder of the miracle of life. Remember, because you are fully
prepared for the delivery of your healthy, wonderful child, the delivery is
going very smoothly... very effortlessly... very easily.
As you practice these techniques, you are preparing for a special
moments in each of your lives. Pleasant, peaceful memories filling your body,
mind and spirit. Before, during and after the delivery of your special little
miracle. Remember your body, mind and spirit have released and are free of
all past myths concerning labor and delivery. Birth is a wonderful, natural,
pleasant experience. You are looking forward with great joy experiencing the
birth of your beautiful, healthy baby. If anyone should try to reinforce these
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myths about labor and delivery, your conscious and subconscious mind will
immediately reject, cancel and remove these negative thoughts from your
mind, body and spirit and will replace them with the knowledge of an easy,
wonderful, pleasant, birth experience. Because are prepared for this birth,
you are ready when the time comes to experience this birth, filled with joy,
peace and love. You are confident in your ability to have this baby in the
most pleasant, comfortable way filled with love for you and your healthy
baby.
As you continue to breath gently and fully, feel you be mind and spirit
being filled with confidence and peacefulness. You desire to deliver a healthy
peaceful baby easily and calmly... you have made this a reality as of today.
Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability to achieve your goals... Believe your
body, mind and spirit are working together to achieve the best, highest good
for yourself and your baby.
Because you believe in yourself and your abilities to achieve success,
your delivery will go smoothly, easily, at the exact perfect time nature plans
it. With each and every positive suggestion you are given, all previous
suggestions become stronger and stronger. You are completely ready and
willing to relax completely, mentally and to let your body deliver your baby
easily and effortlessly, when the time comes for your healthy baby to be
born. If anyone should try to reinforce their negative beliefs about the birth
of a baby, your conscious and subconscious minds can immediately reject,
cancel, disregard and remove these negative thoughts. Your mind, body and
spirit will instantly replace them with the accurate knowledge of birth being
a natural, easy, wonderful, pleasant experience to enjoy, because you are
totally prepared for this birth... your mind, body and spirit are working as
one to ensure this birth of your beautiful healthy baby to be an easy,
enjoyable, pleasant experience for you and your baby. Be confident that
when it is time to experience the birth of your beautiful, loved, healthy baby,
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you are totally prepared, in total control... Enjoying this wonderful miracle
of life that's so natural and easy for you while you remain calm and at
peace with joy and love.
Remember you know the truth; childbirth is one of the most natural,
easy, wonderful experiences of a woman's life. You believe this truth and
know you are very capable of achieving a peaceful, pleasant, comfortable
delivery of your very healthy baby. You are so pleased to be supplying your
healthy, developing baby with the very best nutrition for yourself and your
growing child within you.
When the birth of your baby is approaching, each contraction can be a
pleasant, wonderful experience; reminding you that your child is on its way
to being born in an easy, natural, wonderful way. You are totally prepared
to deliver this baby calmly, peacefully, lovingly and easily. With each
pleasant, comfortable contraction, you know you are getting closer to
holding this beautiful, healthy, very much loved, miracle within you; your
baby. With each pleasant contraction you are getting closer to seeing and
holding your healthy baby. At the very hint of discomfort, you take a deep
breath and this relaxes you more deeply and completely. Because you are
prepared, you are confident, you know this baby is being born to a healthy,
confident mother who is very positive and relaxed and enjoying this miracle
of birth.
When it is time for the baby's head to crown, pushing down and the
area instantly becomes numb. You are prepared. Know as soon as the baby's
head reaches the crowning stage, your bottom becomes completely numb.
With any pressure, the numbness increases as you continue to be relaxed,
calm and filled with peace.
Your body is totally relaxed and opening to the proper size for your
healthy baby to fit through easily. Your abdominal and pelvic muscles know
exactly how to react during delivery and contraction; your body is
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programmed to achieve the most pleasant, easiest delivery of your very

healthy, beautiful baby.
Remember you are in control feeling so happy and positive. If at any
time you should desire medication, feel free to do so, because you are in
control of this delivery. You are in control of your mind, body and spirit for
the most pleasant, calm and peaceful delivery .
Once again, remember, if anyone should try to re-implant their
negative beliefs about the birth of a baby, know that these are their beliefs;
you are free of these wrong negative thoughts. Your conscious and
subconscious mind instantly replaces them with your accurate knowledge of
birth being a natural, easy, wonderful, pleasant experience; to enjoy. Because
you are totally prepared for this birth, your body, mind and spirit are
working as one to ensure this birth of your beautiful, healthy baby to be an
easy, enjoyable, pleasant experience for you and your baby. Be confident
that when it is time to experience the birth of your beautiful, loved, healthy
baby, you are totally prepared and in total control. Enjoying this wonderful
miracle of life that is so natural and easy for you; while you remain calm, at
peace and filled with joy and love.
Continue enjoying your special place. I want you to remember that
your body knows exactly how to react with each and every contraction.
Your body, mind and spirit are working as one to deliver this baby easily,
safely, comfortably. When the time approaches, your body, mind and spirit
are working together as one. Remember, with each contraction, your body
knows exactly how to react to make this birth pleasant and easy for you
and your healthy baby. As the baby's head approaches the pelvic floor, this
area becomes very numb, very comfortable with the hint of pressure the
numbness increases to complete numbness, complete pleasure, complete
comfort. As your healthy very loved baby passes from your body into a very
calm and peaceful, loving world, experience the joy, the love, the miracle of
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life with peace in your heart and it is so. Peace, comfort, security is yours.
Hypnosis Birthing Affirmations for Mother:
1. I put all anxiety aside as I prepare for the birth of my baby.
2.. I am relaxed and happy that my baby is finally coming to me.
3. I am focused on a smooth, easy birth
4. I trust my body to know what it is to do.
5. My mind is relaxed; my body is relaxed.
6. I feel confident; I feel safe; I feel secure.
7. My muscles work in complete harmony to make birthing easier .
8. I feel a natural anesthesia flowing through my body.
9. I relax as we move quickly and easily through each stage of birth.
10. My cervix opens outward and allows my baby to ease down.
11. I fully relax and turn my birthing over to Nature.
12. I see my baby coming smoothly from my womb.
13. My baby's birth is easy because I am so relaxed.
14. I breathe correctly and eliminate tension.
15. I feel my body gently sway with relaxation.
16. I turn my birthing over to my baby and my body.
17. I am prepared to meet whatever turn my birthing takes.
18. My baby moves gently along in its journey.
19. Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me.
20. I deepen my relaxation as I move further into labor. I am totally relaxed
and at ease.
21. My body remains still and limp.
22. I meet each surge only with my breath; my body is at ease.
23. I release my birthing over to my body and my baby.
24. I bring myself into deeper relaxation.
25. I put all anxiety aside and welcome my baby with happiness and joy.
6. Give hand out for “Session 3" and tape “Hypnosis for Childbirth
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Preparation”
SESSION FOUR:
1. Update conversation with client and if husband/significant other is
present.
2. Have husband/significant other practice hypnosis (demonstrate glove
anesthesia and other techniques and suggestions) with client. Take note
while he works with client. After the hypnosis session with client, go over
with husband/significant other suggestion for improving techniques or
suggestions.
3. Scripts for Session 4:
BIRTHING SCRIPT: (adopted from Henry Leo Bolduc): New life is
forming, growing and moving within you. You are part of the promise and
the destiny of life itself. A very important event is going to take place in
your life... a wonderfully normal, natural, biological and spiritual event.
You’re going to have a baby. As time progresses, the process of birthing and
freeing the kicking, moving little being who’s been a part of your body for so
long will be born.
Soon it is time for the baby to become its own separate person. One
cycle is ending and immediately; another is beginning. What has been called
"labor" is that in-between experience... that small, short period of time and
space between the baby’s two worlds.
Change from one stage to another brings pressure and then release.
You soon experience this as the change is completed and fulfilled. You can
feel this and embrace it and welcome it as refreshing and totally natural.
With your mind, you build a healthy attitude and happy expectation.
Happy childbirth has much to do with a healthy; joyous, loving anticipation.
It is something remarkably beautiful.
Whenever you feel your body begin to surge, actively think “release"
and "let go" of tension. There is a time for experiencing that uterine wave,
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flowing with it and ultimately releasing and letting go. You are learning to
relax, to flow and melt with the very rhythm of life itself. With relaxation
and positive expectation, you have come to know that all things are possible.
In your mind's eye, picture the shore of a lake or an ocean. Watch the
endless waves softly brushing to the shore... the ebb and flow of the water.
Observe it advancing and withdrawing over the sand. Become a part of it,
flowing with it. Become a part of the rhythm of the waves within your own
body... the surge and release.
Breathe in the natural anesthesia of your own body... endorphins,
many times more effective than the strongest drugs known to human
beings... create your own serenity and release it throughout your body...
breathing in and breathing through... giving birth to your baby.
With proper physical, spiritual and mental exercise; you are preparing
yourself for this wonderful celebration of life. As you get into the rhythm
and work with your mind and body; the easier and smoother it becomes.
Each time you hear your birth companion's voice and feel the gentle touch,
the more easily your relaxation deepens. Breathe... slowly, confidently,
gently. Each time you breathe in, breathe in relaxation and peace. Each time
you breathe out, breathe out tension and stress, as the body's natural
endorphins flow to wherever they are needed to bring ease.
With your mind's eye and your inner senses, mentally and emotionally
feel yourself joyfully; totally aware and participating. See it as already
accomplished. Listen with your mind's ear to that first sound of new life.
Create a vivid visualization of the exhilaration you feel as you see your
baby at the moment of birth. See the three of you bonding for the first time
in this life. Now mentally see yourself stepping into this joyful scene.
Become a part of this birthing... fulfilled. Feel it... Sense it. This is now your
body. In your mind's eye, see and feel yourself totally enveloping that body...
holding the baby on your breast. These are your arms enfolding your baby,
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these are your hands embracing this new little being.

You knew you could do it and you did. Join in with joy and
amazement and watch the continuing mystery of creation unfold. The life
force of nature is working in harmony with you. Now more than at any
moment in your life, it is within you and with you. You are an integral part
of nature, and nature is an integral part of your being. You are a part of
the greatest celebration of life. "You are a part of the promise and the
destiny of life itself "
4. Give hand out for “Session 4"
SESSION FIVE:
1. Update from client and husband/significant other.
2. Have husband/significant other do induction, deepening and give
suggestions.
3. Discuss any questions or problems the client may be having with
procedures, etc..
4. Informing the client and husband to begin to use hypnosis as soon as
labor begins and go to hospital as instructed by your physician. When in the
hospital, deepen the hypnotic state but always be responsive to physician
and nurses. Remembering to discount any negative impute.
SESSION SIX:
1. Update from client and husband/significant other.
2. Have husband/significant other do induction, deepening and give
suggestions.
3. Induce hypnosis and use childbirthing or other scripts as needed.
CINDY AND SCOTT'S STORY: HYPNOSIS FOR CHILDBIRTH: An
Edited Article on Cindy and Scott's Story is in the Spring 2002 Issue of
"Vim and Vigor" Magazine (Custom Publishing Council) page 58-61.
(Early in the year 2000, Cindy, a nurse at Pendleton Memorial
Methodist Hospital, asked me if I helped pregnant women use hypnosis for
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childbirth? I told her that I had and asked if was she expecting? She said she
was not, but planned to be in the near future. A few months later, she
called for an appointment as she wanted to use hypnosis for natural
childbirth. This time she was pregnant. I worked with Cindy Cannon and
her husband Scott [who was with her at each session] in preparation for
natural child birth. As I am not certified in hypnobirthing, I used a
combination of hypnobirthing developed by Marie Mongan, Dr. Sean
Longacre's procedures and my own ideas to work with Cindy. Cindy called
me at about 3pm Dec 21. 2000. She was in L&D and had just had her
baby. I went to visit her, her baby girl (Kaylee Deann) and her husband. She
told me she did a lot of pushing, but did not have to have any chemical
anesthesia. The doctor and nurses were impressed. As a result, I have
received several referrals from her physician and others to help pregnant
women use hypnosis for childbirth. I asked Cindy to write a history of her
pregnancy and she agreed to do so which I share with you in this chapter.)
Cindy begins: Our hypnobirthing story began in 1999, long before we
were pregnant. My husband, Scott, and I were watching a Dateline TV
special about a Florida doctor's use of hypnosis to relax expectant mothers
during labor and delivery. The report featured two families: one delivering
their first child and another whose first delivery had been a difficult and
painful one so she had turned to hypnosis for their second.
We were amazed to see both women walking and talking during labor
in no apparent distress and drug free! Scott and I had never heard of
hypnobirthing and we were naturally skeptical. But we were also intrigued
at how calm and relaxed the two women were throughout the labor and
delivery of their babies. It was quite a contrast from the dramatic
depictions of women screaming, sweating and swearing that we had been
bombarded with on television and in the movies. I turned to Scott and said,
"When we get pregnant, that's what we're going to do." I had always feared
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epidurals, but I also feared the "pain" that I had come to believe was
inevitable with childbirth. Everyone I talked to who had children told me
horror stories about how excruciatingly painful labor and delivery was.
Interestingly, many of the stories of pain and difficulty came from women
who had the benefit of medication. I found that frightening.
When Scott and I became pregnant in April 2000, we sought the
services of Chaplain Durbin, who worked at the same hospital where I was a
nurse. I was aware that Chaplain Durbin was a certified hypnotherapist and
assisted patients with hypnosis, but I did not know if he was familiar with
the use of hypnosis during birthing or if he would be willing and available to
assist us. Fortunately, he was familiar with the particular techniques of
hypnobirthing and was eager to help us.
Our first visit with Chaplain Durbin came when I was just eight weeks
pregnant. We did not know what to expect, but we knew we had no
background in the use of hypnosis, so we thought it would be a good idea to
get an early start. Chaplain Durbin first explained to us what hypnosis was
and more importantly what it was not. We needed to hear that because
despite the Dateline special, we were still skeptical. All we knew about
hypnosis was what we had seen on talk-shows. Though we were entertained
watching hypnotized people doing silly tricks, we still did not know anything
about hypnosis or whether it could have any real benefit for us.
Chaplain Durbin explained that under hypnosis, one is more susceptible
to suggestions, but only within the bounds of one's morals. The people we
had seen on talk- shows "performed" because they were there with the
intent to be entertained and the circumstances made their silly behavior
appropriate. Chaplain Durbin told me that I would probably not do
anything foolish if asked to do so during one of our sessions, but that I
would likely come out of hypnosis.
Even after being persuaded that hypnosis was for real, I still did not
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believe that I could be hypnotized. But about two minutes after we began
our first session, Chaplain Durbin had helped me to achieve a very relaxed
state of hypnosis. Scott was amazed. Chaplain Durbin had me outstretch
my arms. He suggested that one arm was light and floating upwards
because there were helium balloons tied to it. He suggested that the other
arm was heavy and sinking downward because I was holding a very heavy
book. Amazingly, one arm began to rise while the other lowered!
We could not contain our enthusiasm and told our friends and family
about our first session. But most people we told about our plan to use
hypnobirthing were incredibly skeptical. Especially women who had
delivered their own children. They raised eyebrows as if to say, "Yeah, we'll
see...."
Over the next few sessions, Chaplain Durbin taught us how to relax and
reach a deep state of hypnosis. Scott attended all the sessions so that he
could learn the techniques and be my "coach." Our first practice session
without Chaplain Durbin, in June of 2000, was comical! Every time that
Scott spoke the words of the hypnosis "script" we had been using to relax
me, I began to giggle. In the beginning, it all seemed so unnatural and
amusing to us, but within no time we were achieving deep hypnosis and
practicing regularly. Soon our sessions seemed perfectly normal.
Chaplain Durbin next introduced us to a technique called "glove
anesthesia", in which he persuaded me that my left hand was numb. I was
then able to use that hand to transfer the numbness to other body parts as
needed during labor and delivery. When he convinced me that my hand
was numb, he pinched it hard enough to leave a red mark, but I didn't feel
anything.
By July, we had been to four sessions with Chaplain Durbin. He
allowed Scott to lead me and he then offered recommendations to improve
our techniques. Scott and I continued to practice about once a week. Each
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time we practiced it became easier.

In October 2000, spurned by my excitement over the results we were
seeing with the practice sessions, I went online to research hypnobirthing
further. I discovered a web-site by Marie Mongan, the founder of
"hypnobirthing." I ordered her book and relaxation tapes. The book
reinforced what we had already learned from Chaplain Durbin and provided
me with a resource (the tapes) to allow me to achieve self-hypnosis. That
allowed me practice even more. Mongan's book taught that hypnosis helps
one relax through contractions which enables the body to work with the
contractions, not against them.
I listened to Chaplain Durbin's or Marie Mongan's tapes everyday.
Scott and I continued to practice weekly. We met with Chaplain Durbin for
the last time on November 24th. He told us boldly that we were going to
do great and that our techniques was good.
December 20, 2000 - My contractions started sometime during the
day but I didn't know that I was having them until the doctor pointed
them out to me on our last scheduled doctor's visit. I began feeling the
contractions at about 10:00 p.m. I listened one last time to Marie Mongan's
affirmation tape. The tape encouraged me, assuring me that I could do
labor and delivery "normally and naturally." The rest of that night I
watched television and paced the floor, not wrested with pain, but filled
with excitement.
December 21, 2000 - 6:00 a.m. - Contractions were five minutes
apart and lasting about 45 seconds. Scott helped me relax with hypnosis in
the hospital parking lot because we feared the hustle and bustle of the
hospital would make focusing on relaxing difficult. 8:30 a.m. - Contractions
were four minutes apart and lasting one to two minutes. I was dilated 6cm.
Labor progressed quickly and pain-free. 10:00 a.m. - Contractions were
almost on top of one another. Although I was dilated eight centimeters, our
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baby was not dropping. Scott and I kept our attention focused on relaxing.
But when our doctor told us it would be at least two more hours before the
baby came, I became discouraged. I was getting tired and I began for the
first time to worry that I might not be able stay relaxed through two more
hours of contractions. Scott changed gears from coach to cheerleader. His
pep talks made the next two hours fly by. When contractions came, I quietly
put my head down, closed my eyes, breathed deeply and relaxed as Scott
applied counter-pressure to my back. Our nurse entered our room during a
two-minute-long contraction; she shook her head in disbelief that I was so
quiet and composed during the contractions. No moans, no tears, not even
a raised voice. Other nurses commented that the expectant lady in Room 1
(that was me!) was too quiet and that I must have had an epidural. 12
Noon - The doctor examined me and again I was told it would be "awhile
longer." My husband, knowing my earlier discouragement, convinced our
doctor to move me to the delivery room. He told the doctor that it would
encourage me to believe I was making progress and getting close to delivery.
We were putting into practice "mind over body."
2:00 p.m. - After pushing drug-free for two hours, our baby's heart
rate dropped. It had dropped with every push, but this time it wasn't
returning to normal. Our doctor attempted to use suction, but my fear over
the health of our baby and the distraction of the doctor working made
concentrating on relaxation difficult. Our doctor, seriously concerned about
the baby's distress, urged us to consider an emergency saddle block so he
could take the baby immediately. Within minutes, the anesthesiologist, nurse
anesthetist and several nurses entered the room to perform the saddle
block. But just as they arrived, I began another contraction and I began to
push through it. Everyone in the room began chanting, "Go Cindy! Go
Cindy!"
On the fourth push of that contraction, the doctor performed an
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episiotomy and our healthy baby girl was born!! Scott and I had succeeded
in giving birth to our beautiful little miracle using hypnobirthing.
5:00 p.m. - I was back in the labor room and walking on my own,
even going to the bathroom on my own.
6:30 p.m. - Our beautiful baby girl, Kaylee Deann, was brought to us.
She "roomed" with us on that first night. Kaylee was alert and energetic
and, most importantly to us, she had absolutely no drugs in her system.
Scott asked me several weeks after we delivered Kaylee whether I would use
hypnobirthing again? My immediate answer was "Yes!" We did not use
hypnobirthing because we thought it was novel or different. We had a goal
in mind to deliver naturally. It was a means to an end and worth the effort
to learn and practice to be fully aware and in control of my body during
the entire labor and delivery process. I controlled every aspect of my
delivery; it did not control me. And interacting with our alert baby
convinced me that I had chosen the best method of delivery. We had not
excluded other options, should they become necessary, but we successfully
delivered using the techniques taught us by Chaplain Durbin and the
materials we obtained from Marie Mongan..
(I thank Cindy and Scott for sharing their experience with hypnosis for
childbirth with you and wish for Kaylee a happy and healthy life.)
(NOTE: My program using hypnosis for childbirth is not "an all or
nothing" program. The client is aware that she can have chemical anesthesia
when and if needed and that is alright. I worked with my daughter-in-law
(Gretchen) and son (Scott) using hypnosis for childbirth. It was working fine,
but late in the afternoon, the baby was not moving down properly, so the
physician recommended a C-Section which they decided was best for the
baby. A beautiful baby boy, Brewster Paul, was born on July 13, 2001 and
is the joy of his grandpa. He is a happy baby and cries only when he is
hungry or when he is hurting. Now, when he is hungry, he lets you know in
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no uncertain terms. I am convinced the hypnosis sessions, the music time

for the baby, his mother and dad talking to and playing with him before he
was born, and him feeling their love for him contributed greatly to his
wonderful personality. As I write he just turned one year old and is still a
healthy, happy baby.
LET METHODIST HELP: (“Vim and Vigor” 2002 Spring Issue): For
those interested in following the hypnosis delivery path, Methodist Women's
Center, in association with Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy Paul G.
Durbin, Ph.D., offers hypnosis for childbirth. "Hypnosis for childbirth
preparation is a guided relaxation technique before, during and after labor
and delivery that allows the mother to break the cycle of fear and
anticipation that contributes to tension and increased pain," Durbin says,
emphasizing that self-hypnosis for childbirth is not for every woman. "It is
important that couples interested in using hypnosis for childbirth discuss the
process with their physicians. And, of course, couples may change their
mind at any time during the planning process - or even at the time of
delivery." Internationally recognized for his work in hypnotherapy and
diplomat of the International Medical and Dental Association, Durbin
emphasizes that clinical hypnosis is quite different from the stage hypnosis or
the image of hypnotists depicted in the media. "Hypnosis is a normal,
natural experience - similar to traveling to a place your have been before,
but your mind is on something else and without realizing it, you find
yourself two or three blocks beyond where you want to go. Even though you
were not paying attention, you were driving safely. Your subconscious mind
protects you."
Durbin explains that a hypnotherapist is a guide, assisting an
individual in preprogramming the subconscious mind to overcome fear, or to
break a bad habit such as smoking. Candidates for using hypnosis during
childbirth participate in a series of therapeutic sessions in which they learn
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self-hypnosis techniques and trigger mechanisms used to begin the process

when labor first begins. The expectant father also plays a significant,
supportive role during hypnosis for childbirth, similar to that of a Lamaze
partner. Additionally, the patient's physician and attending nursing staff
participate in the process with positive, encouraging communication and
assistance. Hypnosis for childbirth preparation requires a physician referral.
Chapter 23: Hypnosis for Overcoming Insomnia:
FIRST SESSION:
1. Have client fill our suggestibility questionnaire and give regular first
session pre-talk.
2. During counseling session get information of sleep history.
(1) How long has insomnia been a problem?
(2) What is going on in your life that might be contributing to insomnia?
(3) Is there or has there been other family members who have experienced
insomnia?
(4) Is this a problem that exist when you go to bed to sleep?
(5) If you wake up at night do you have difficulty going back to sleep?
3. Go over anticipatory anxiety. If you has trouble going to sleep one night
and on another occasion or two, you have trouble going to sleep, you may
began to worry about going to sleep and thus anticipatory anxiety sets in
and the harder you try to go to sleep the harder it becomes.
4. Suggestibility Exercises and Induction of Hypnosis:
5. Scripts for Session 1:
CALM AND RELAXED: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
THE HEAVY BACKPACK: (Refer to Chapter 7: Healing Stories and Guided
Imagery)
OVERCOME INSOMNIA # 1: As you are relaxed and comfortable, see
or imagine yourself going to bed tonight. See or imagine yourself practicing
self hypnosis and upon completion, drifting into a restful peaceful sleep.
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When it is time to sleep, you find that you go to sleep easily and quickly.
Your subconscious mind sees the need to help you sleep and is releasing all
thoughts and ideas which are blocking your ability to sleep. As your
subconscious helps you, you go to sleep with ease and sleep comfortably
through the night.
You drift into natural, peaceful, restful sleep and you wake up when
it is appropriate for you to wake up or when someone wakes you. If you
wake up during the night, you can go back to sleep easily until it is the
appropriate time to awaken.
Whenever you want to go to sleep, you can close your eyes and take
seven deep breaths following this method. Breathe in on "1", while inhaling
say "and" and when exhaling say "2", inhale "and" exhale "3", inhale "and"
exhale "4", inhale "and" exhale "5". Inhale "and" exhale "6", inhale "and"
exhale "7" now just feel yourself relaxing and drifting off to peaceful, restful
sleep.
As you sleep through the night, you find that you feel more energetic,
more cheerful and that you have more energy. So beginning tonight or
tomorrow night or even a few nights from now; you are able to go to sleep
without difficulty and you sleep well throughout the night. You wake up
feeling good, positive and ready for the day's activities.
BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
(Give out tape “Hypnosis for Overcoming Insomnia.)
SECOND SESSION:
1. Discuss how client is doing and anything that comes up since the last
counseling period.
2. Scripts for Session 2:
20 DOWN TO 1 -- INDIRECT INDUCTION: (Refer to Chapter 5: Inductions)
SUBCONSCIOUS QUESTIONS FOR INSOMNIA: (Refer to Chapter 9:
Therapeutic Tools)
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THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO BE ASKED WHEN

USING THE FINGER RESPONSE OR PENDULUM.
1. Is three some emotional or psychological reason you have difficulty
sleeping? ___________
2. Does having difficulty going to sleep serve some definite purpose?
3. Does worrying and thinking about problems prevent you from going to
sleep?
4. Does your expectation of not going to sleep keep you awake?
_______________________
5. Do you have difficulty going to sleep when you feel stress or tension?
6. Does your inability to relax keep you awake?
____________________________________
7. Is there some inner conflict causing you to have difficulty going to sleep?
8. Are you identifying with someone else perhaps a parent or significant
other who had difficulty sleeping?
9. Does your difficulty in sleeping results from a desire to punish yourself?
______________
10. Does your difficulty in sleeping results from a desire to punish someone
else?
12. Is there any sexual conflict that is keeping you from sleeping well?
___________________
13. Is there any imprint, impression, thought, or idea keeping you from
going to sleep?
14. Is some past experience keeping you from sleeping well?
15. Are you afraid something bad might happen while you are sleeping?
16. Are you afraid you may have nightmares while you are sleeping?
17. Does your mind associate sleeping with death?
__________________________________
18. Is some fear causing you to have difficulty sleeping?
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19. Do you have difficulty going to sleep because you are angry?
20. Do you have trouble going to sleep because you feel guilty about
something?
21. Is there some other reason you have difficulty going to sleep?
22. Is it ok with your subconscious mind to get rid of this problem?
(If answer is “No” ask, “Can you, or do you want to discuss why you do not
want to get rid of your difficulty in going to sleep? If you are unable to get
subconscious agreement in overcoming insomnia go to “Hand-To-Face For
Therapy”.)
(Discuss any issues that results from the Subconscious Questioning.)
HAND-TO-FACE FOR THERAPY: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic
Tools) [If hand has not touched the client's face, use "Therapy Between
Sessions."] (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools.)
OVERCOMING INSOMNIA # 2: BLACKBOARD TECHNIQUE : Imagine
in your mind's eyes a blackboard; there is chalk there and a clean eraser.
You pick up the chalk in one hand and in the middle of the blackboard you
put the number “1". That's right. Look at that for a few minutes and then
erase the '1' and up in the corner of the blackboard... and I wonder which
corner you'll choose?... Up in the corner of the blackboard, you print the
word 'sleep'; and you look at that for a time, and then erase it.
Now is the middle of the blackboard you put the number “2", enjoying
the feeling in your hand as you write that--nice, flowing lines--that's right.
You look at that and then you erase it and up in the corner of the
blackboard, again you print the word “sleep” and you look at that and erase
it.
And in the middle of the blackboard you print the number “3". I
wonder how you'll make the number “3"? With two half-circles, perhaps. I
wonder if the upper one might be smaller or will it be larger than the lower
one, or the lower one smaller or larger than the upper one or perhaps a
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straight line across the top, a straight line down diagonally, and then a
curve--so many different ways to make the “3". Look at the one you have
chosen, then erase it and up in the corner, print the word “sleep”, paying
particular attention to the “ee's” in “sleep’-- that's right--and then erase
it.
Then in the middle of the blackboard you print the number “4". Do
you make the “4" with open lines or a closed triangle? There are so many
different ways of writing “4".
You continue this progression of printing a number and erasing it and
printing the word “sleep”, and erasing it--then another number and erase
it and so on. You are surprised to find yourself waking up in the morning!
And it is always very interesting to think back on how many numbers you
wrote. It is very, very uncommon for people to have reached the number
ten. You may be curious, if you decide to explored this particular approach,
as to how many numbers you have written before you find yourself waking
up this morning. Enjoy the beginning of refreshing, restoring, replenishing
sleep, every night.
1 UP TO 20 -- COMING OUT OF HYPNOSIS: (Refer to Chapter 5:
Inductions)
MORE SCRIPTS IF NEEDED:
INSTITUTE OF UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic
Tools)
OVERCOMING INSOMNIA # 3: You were born with the ability to
sleep at any time you needed sleep... When you were a baby, you didn't
think about sleeping or staying awake... When you needed sleep, you would
go to sleep... That's an ability you were born with and that means it's an
ability you still have...
You have the natural ability to go to sleep easily and quickly... When
you desire to sleep, you can sleep even if it is noisy... You can sleep even if
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there is light in the room... You can sleep comfortably regardless of your
emotional state at the time when you go to bed...
There are many people who go to sleep almost as soon as they get into
bed... and you are just as capable of going to sleep quickly and easily...
It keeps becoming easier for you to relax and go into a deep sleep any
time you desire to sleep... you can go to sleep just as easily as you did when
you were a baby...
You can go to sleep easily in any position, and in any surroundings...
you can go to sleep even if it is noisy, and you can sleep comfortably even if
there is light on in the room or if it is totally dark...
Your subconscious mind has an amazing capacity for learning rapidly.
Your mind already knows what to do to enable you to go to sleep quickly
and easily and can enable you to sleep comfortably and soundly...
When you desire to sleep, you sleep normally, naturally awakening
when it is appropriate for you to wake up or when someone wakes you.
If something happens during the night while you are sleeping that
makes it necessary for you to awaken, you wake immediately... and when
you are ready to go back to sleep you are able to do so rapidly. You can
sleep as long as you wish and awaken at the time when you want to
awaken...
Right now, you are relaxing in a hypnotic state and you are learning
that it is easy for you to go to sleep and sleep peacefully and calmly... You
have rapidly learned to go into a hypnotic state of relaxation and you are
realizing that it is just as easy for you to go to sleep anytime you go to bed
for the purpose of sleeping.
Whenever you want to go to sleep, you close your eyes and breathe
deeply and exhale slowly seven times...
Each time you inhale you feel yourself becoming drowsier and each
time you exhale, you continue becoming more relaxed.
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After breathing deeply and exhaling slowly seven times, begin counting
backwards in your mind slowly from one-hundred... each time you try to
think of the next number you continue becoming drowsier... and the
numbers keep fading away and soon disappear and you drift into a deep,
peaceful, sound, restful sleep... That's how easy it is to go into a deep,
sound, peaceful sleep. You breathe deeply and exhale slowly seven times and
then begin counting slowly back from one hundred in your mind. As you
continue doing that each night, you automatically keep going to sleep more
quickly... the numbers keep fading away more rapidly each time you use this
method to go to sleep... and you always drift into a peaceful, calm, restful
sleep state as the number fade away...
Each time you are ready to go to sleep, it keeps becoming easier... and
it is also easy for you to awaken when it is time for you to awaken...
During the day you feel more energetic, more cheerful and experience
increased vitality... Your energy increases and your health continues
improving more each day.
OVERCOME INSOMNIA # 4: Now that you are calm and relaxed, I
want you to take seven deep breaths and drift into a deep level of
hypnosis... Because you want to sleep peacefully and calmly each night when
you go to bed for the purpose of sleeping and awaken each morning feeling
rested and refreshed, you follow this routine each night when you are ready
to go to sleep.
Begin by closing your eyes, then let the muscles in your upper eyelids
relax to the best of your ability... Let them keep relaxing until your eyelids
feel like they want to remain shut... When you have them completely
relaxed, test them to be sure they remain shut... Then let them relax even
more... Let every muscle, every nerve in your eyelids become even more
relaxed and then feel that relaxation moving through your entire body, from
your eyelids all the way down to the tips of your toes...
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As your eyelids and the muscles, ligaments and tendons in your body
continue becoming more relaxed, you drift into a deep, peaceful, restful,
very comfortable state of sleep... While you are sleeping you are relaxed and
calm... You sleep until it's time for you to wake up.
It is easy for you to relax and go to sleep by using this technique of
closing your eyelids and letting them become so relaxed they feel like they
want to remain shut and then by letting that relaxation move through your
entire body, from your eyelids down to the tips of your toes... Each night,
when you use this technique, you continue drifting into a natural, peaceful
state of sleep more smoothly, more easily, and more quickly...
You sleep calmly and peaceful until it is time for you to awaken. If
you wake up during the night, you take care of the situation and then
when you are ready to go back to sleep, you use the same technique you
used before and you drift into a state a sleep more easily than you did
before you woke up.
When you awaken each morning, you feel refreshed and eager to begin
another day... During the day you are energetic and strong. You enjoy the
activities of the day... You are enthusiastic about all the activities you
participate in each day...
Each night, when you are ready to go to sleep, the moment you close
your eyes, you think only about the peacefulness of letting the muscles,
ligaments and tendons in and around your eyelids relax... you experience the
calming flow of peace moving throughout your entire being... You feel the
easy, smooth flow of spiritual currents soothing you into a peaceful state of
sleep... Without even noticing it, you quickly drift into a normal, natural
state of sleep... Throughout the night, you are completely at ease. If you
have any thoughts go through your mind after you close your eyes, they are
thoughts of love, calmness and peace... You realize that you are an
important part of the creation... You realize that you were created by the
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same Creator that created every other person... That sets your mind at ease,
and you sleep peacefully and calmly throughout the night...
Chapter 24: Hypnosis for Removing Warts:
A lady called me from Boston to discuss hypnotherapy and it
effectiveness in removing warts. She said that she found my website and was
calling because her daughter, Laura was a student at Tulane University in
New Orleans. She told me that Laura had numerous warts on her hands
and feet. I told her that in the past, I had worked with people who had
warts and was successful with warts being removed in 2 to 6 sessions. A
few days later Laura called and set up an appointment.
On the first visit, Laura pointed out 16 warts on her wrist, hands,
feet and knees. Most of the warts on her hands were from the wrist to the
tips of the fingers and on her feet were from the ankle to the tips of her
toes and a few warts were on her knees. She first began to have warts about
7 years before her contact with me. In the past, she had attempted to get
rid of the warts by surgery, freezing, burning, creams and laser only to have
the warts return. Over a four mount period, I had five sessions with Laura
with amazing result. After the fourth session, Laura had 2 warts remaining
and was feeling great about the experience. About four months after the
fourth session she called requesting to see me one more time before her
graduation from Tulane. She had 1 wart remain and was fearful that some
which had been removed by surgery were returning. I have not heard from
her after that fifth session. My only regret is that I did not take pictures of
Laura’s hands, feet and knees before we began the therapy and at the end
of the fifth session. I thank Laura for giving me permission to share her case
history for the removal of warts. (The following is a summery of the five
sessions with Laura)
There are basically two ways to deal with warts - (1) By altering the
blood flow to the warts and by (2) influencing the body immune response,
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thus destroying the virus. (I had an alcoholic swab which is cold to skin upon
touch) After induction and deepening, I said, these warts are dissolving
and your skin can be void of them....The area that I touch with this alcoholic
swab is getting colder and colder. You can feel the area getting colder and
colder as I rub the area...these warts now begins to feel very cool...cool...very
cold....As you feel this, nod your head....Good....The area is cool....As they get
colder and colder, the blood cease to provide nourishment to the warts. The
warts are going to leave. (An alcoholic swab is rubbed on each wart on her
hand, feet and knee. Continue with script)
It is important for you to learn some things about yourself ... You can
learn that the flow of blood to the cells carries oxygen and nutrients to each
cell, helping them to grow and multiply to create new cells, to speed
whatever healing must be done ... And the most wonderful thing about this
process is that you can learn to control it. This is something you can easily
understand and begin to learn to do as you become aware of your physical
body in a new and positive way. Healing can take place at any time. (Pause)
You can visualize the structure of a wart. You can see that it is useless
and unnecessary. See the network of tiny veins and blood vessels that bring
it nourishment ... And now you can discover that by blocking off the veins
and capillaries that feed it, you can deprive each wart of nourishment and
nutrients ... It receives no warmth, no attention, and begins to starve. In
time, it shrinks; then vanishes, so that healthy new tissue can form in its
place ... Feel a sense of pride about yourself, your body and the healing
process (Pause)
Take a deep breath now and think of healthy new skin ... As you let
the breath out slowly, become aware of this new skin. Is it especially
sensitive? Does it feel cool? Warm? When the warts are gone you can begin
to let your veins and capillaries carry blood and nourishment to the new
healthy skin and you feel warmth throughout your body -- especially to
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your hands, feet and knees. As you become aware of this, it is possible for
you to actually feel the warmth, the blood vessels expanding to pump even
more nourishment and oxygen through your new healthy skin ... You can
become aware of this and experience it in whatever way you wish ...
Perhaps you might recognize it as a pleasant tingling or a kind of
soothing warmth. You are learning a new awareness of yourself ... You are
discovering how to appreciate yourself, to accept yourself. And with this
acceptance -- the warmth and the attention -- you feel more confident,
more comfortable, more at ease, and pleased with yourself. Imagine yourself
as you can look -- not just one part, but your whole body. With a pleasant
sense of awareness and a positive mental attitude, you experience warmth
and healing energy ...
Does the new skin feel tight or slightly tender? Notice the tissue
underneath the skin. Can you feel the blood vessels pulsing as they carry
nutrients to the cells? (Pause) Imagine that you are resting on a secluded
beach; really picture yourself at that beach as the sun shines on your entire
body, especially on your wrist, hands, feet, and knees, with the heat
penetrating your skin; a good feeling of heat that warms you completely
with a soothing, penetrating warmth that brings healing to you. You look at
your wrist, hands, feet and knees and all of the warts are gone. You admire
you beautiful wrist, hands, feet and knees. You can create this same feeling
by simply taking three deep breaths and visualizing the healing -- thankful
that it is already being accomplished.
SUBCONSCIOUS QUESTIONING: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic
Tools) To the subconscious questioning, she answered “yes” to the following
questions. Are you using these warts as means to punish yourself? Are you
using these warts as a means to protect yourself against something? Is there
some conflict concerning sex that contributes to your having warts? Do you
have warts because of some relationship problems? Does stress or tension
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contribute to your having warts? Is it OK with your subconscious mind for

you to get rid of these warts? She was able to release the negative
experiences that were contributing to her having warts with “Waterfall for
Cleansing. ( Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools)
I asked her how life would be different without her warts. She said
that she would have more self-confidence and would like the way her body
looked. To the question, “who do you need to ask forgiveness.” She
answered her mother and we discussed her need to her mother’s
forgiveness and did an exercise with her experiencing that through imagery.
I ask her “If you could be an animal, what three would you like to be
and why? She responded that she would like to be a bird for then she could
go anywhere and do anything she wanted to do. The second animal she
selected was a cheetah because it is graceful and pretty. The third animal
she chose was a dog because it is friendly and loyal.
OTHER SCRIPTS AND THERAPEUTIC TOOLS USED DURING
THERAPY:
WART ELIMINATION: Image that you are putting your right hand in a
bucket of ice cold water so that the upper most wart is under the water.
Feel the area getting colder and colder so that the warts are denied the
blood supply need for nourishment. Now put the other hand in the cold
water and feel it getting colder and colder so that the warts are denied the
blood supply needed to nourish them. Now, put your right foot to just
above the knee in the bucket of cold water and feel the area getting colder
and colder so that the warts are denied the blood supply need to nourish
them. Now put the other foot up to the knee in the bucket of cold water
and feel the area getting colder and colder so that the warts are denied the
blood supply need to nourish them.
The warts are dissolving and getting smaller and smaller. Your warts
are beginning to shrink, getting smaller and smaller. As the sun rays
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evaporate the water caught in a bucket in summer, the warts are

evaporating and get smaller and smaller. They're getting smaller and
smaller each and every day. When you wash your hands or take a shower,
you are washing away the warts. (Washing the hands and taking the shower
becomes a posthypnotic cue for the body to wash away the warts.) Visualize
looking at yourself in a mirror and seeing you wrists, hands, feet and knees
free of warts. The warts are gone and you skin is healthy and pretty. You
feel great and it is so.
THE MAGIC BROOK (Audrey "Tucker" Morgan): By a lovely tree in
the country, there was a gentle brook. It was so cool and fresh and clean.
All the animals liked to come and drink out of the brook. Sitting in a blue
robe and brown slippers was a wise old man. His hair was silver white and
hung to his shoulders. He also had a white beard that fell down into his lap.
He had a gentle smile that put everyone at ease. The grown ups called him
"The Wise One". If you drank the water from the brook they would say,
"You never get sick." All the grown ups brought their children to the brook
to drink the water. The Wise Old Man would smile and tell everyone,
"Hello." As the children grew up they noticed that no one got sick. They
were all well, not a stomach ache, nothing.
One day a young girl approached the brook alone. The Wise Old Man
sat under the tree. He looked at the girl and smiled. The young girl said,
"Excuse me, sir, but can you tell me why no one gets sick? If we just drink
the water from this brook we are forever well." The Wise Old Man smiled
and in a very gentle voice said, "The brook has no magic to it." Then he told
the girl, "The people believe the brook has the magic to keep them well.
Therefore, they don't get sick." Then the Wise Old Man said, "It's what you
believe in your heart that works. There is no magic in the brook, only
what's in your heart."
PROTECTIVE ANTS: (Refer to Chapter 19: Pain Control and Enhancing
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Healing: Judy Hamilton’s Case History)

HAND TO FACE FOR THERAPY: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools)
WATERFALL FOR CLEANSING: (Refer to Chapter 9: Therapeutic Tools)
BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
SECTION THREE: HYPNOTHERAPY FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT:
Chapter 25 The Human Trinity and Stress:
The foundation for my work in hypnotherapy is based on what I refer
to as the human trinity. Whether you are a Christian or not, you would
probably know what I meant if I referred to the Holy Trinity: God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I also believe in the human trinity.
Each of us is a trinity within himself or herself. I am a trinity, you are a
trinity. We are made up of body, mind and spirit. We are physical,
emotional and spiritual beings.
These three aspects of our being are so different and yet so integrated
that one part of the human trinity cannot be affected without having some
effect on the other two. If you have a physical problem, it affects you
emotionally and spiritually. If you have an emotional problem, it affects you
physically and spiritually. If you have a spiritual problem, it affects you
emotionally and physically.
Accepting this theory of the human trinity, one understands that life is
more than just being alive mentally and physically.
An airplane does not cease to be an airplane when it sets in the
hanger or taxies along the runway, but its true nature as an airplane
becomes apparent only when it is airborne. Similarly, a person is a human
being even when he or she is functioning only on the physical and
psychological plane, but one shows his essential humanness when he rises to
the spiritual dimensions.
A man asked his three daughters how much they loved him. The
oldest of the them replied that she loved him more than all the gold and
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silver in the world. The father was noticeably pleased with her answer and
put his arms around her and thanked her. The second daughter responded,
"I love you more than the most valuable jewels in the world." The father
was pleased with her response and put his arms around her and thanked
her. The third and youngest said, "I love you better than salt." The man
was not especially pleased with her remark and dismissed it lightly as an
indication of her immaturity but put his arms around her and thanked her.
Overhearing the conversation, his wife, put no salt in any of his food at the
next meal. He was thus confronted with the deep meaning of his daughter's
remark. She was saying that he was the flavoring, the seasoning and spice
of her life. Developing the spiritual aspect is to life what salt it to food. The
spiritual dimension gives flavor and seasoning to life. When one is
functioning in all levels (physical, emotional, and spiritual), life is more
joyful, more productive and more healthy.
Mr. J. was in the hospital for the third time in less than a year. He
spoke of his past good health and of working through the years to have a
comfortable retirement. However, after retirement, his life savings were
melting away because of poor health. We talked about his feelings about
himself since his retirement and the role that those feelings could be playing
in relation to his illnesses.
Since his retirement, Mr. J. had found no meaningful lifestyle. In fact,
he said, "I feel useless." I suggested that maybe these feelings of uselessness
were playing a part in his illness. His first response to my suggestion was,
"What possible part could my feelings have to do with my health?" As we
talked about the relationship between stress and health, he came to the
conclusion that perhaps a change of attitude would help him by improving
his chances for better health and/or help him to make the most of life even
if the poor health continued.
Mr. J.'s question, "What possible part could my feelings have to do with
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my health?", is one which many ask. We tend to think that illnesses and
injuries are something that happens to us and of which we have little
control. What part does stress, or rather our handling of stress, play in
regards to our health? Do we have any control of our own health and well-
being? These are some of the questions I will attempt to answer in this
book.
In the world in which we live, we can paraphrase an old hymn, "I got
stress, you got stress, all God's children got stress." At one time or another,
everyone experiences some stress in life. As long as we are alive mentally,
stress is an unavoidable fact of life which can be a help or hindrance. There
are healthy ways to manage stress which motivates us for mental,
emotional, physical and spiritual growth. I am sure that I would have never
returned to school after that first day if my parents had not exerted a
proper amount of stress to get me to school on that second day. It was not
that I did not want to learn, nor was I afraid of being away from home, I
just enjoyed playing more than sitting in a classroom. Without that stress
from my parents, I would never have gone back to school. How different
my life would have been without the stress that motivated me to return to
school. Stress may hinder us, but it also has a positive side which we may
call excitement, drive, motivation, or competitiveness. Stress gives us the
power and energy to achieve goals.
On the other hand, a failure to properly handle stress can cause us
harm. Stress has been compared to a dangerous germ that is infecting
many in our world today. You have seen its symptoms and even felt them
in yourself; the knot of tension in your stomach, the splitting headache
caused by the pressures of life, the tension in your neck and shoulders which
may lead to physical problems ranging from mild discomfort to intense
pain, the feeling that you are going to explode, the feeling that you can't
take it anymore. These and other such feeling go along with the improper
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handling of stress.
What is stress? Stress is caused by any change, threat of change, or
possibility of change in a person's environment, thoughts or body. One of
the best definitions of stress which I have heard comes from a woman who
attended a stress management seminar which I led. When I asked for
definitions from the class, she said, "Stress is anything that throws the
normal out of balance." Something that may be stressful to me may not be
stressful to you. On the other hand, there are things that may be stressful
to you, that may not be stressful to me. The stress which we experience
may be negative such as the death of a loved one or positive such as a
promotion at work. If a person inwardly is concerned with his ability to
handle the new position then the promotion produces stress.
Though some stress experts list up to a hundred or more stress-
producing experiences, I feel that they can be broken down into six major
stress categories:
1. Death of a significant other: spouse, child, parent, relative, close friend,
political or religious leader.
2. Marriage, family, divorce, child leaving home, child as an adult returning
home.
3. Business readjustment, job demands, lose of job, financial change either
up or down, retirement.
4. Emotional and spiritual problems or concerns.
5. Any significant change in one's lifestyle.
6. Daily problems and frustrations of life.
Harmful stress depends not so much on what happens to us, but how
we react to it. It is not always the event that is stressful, but how we view
the event. Herbert Benson states that the things we can touch, taste and
measure may be less important than what we perceive or believe to be real.
It is more how we perceive what happens than what actually happens. Our
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well-being is shaped by the negative or positive ways we think. Epictetus,

the first century Roman philosopher, recognized this fact when he wrote,
"Man is disturbed not by things, but by his opinion of things." [Herbert
Benson, Beyond the Relaxation Response, p4]
Certain events such as violence, arguments and illness are by their
nature stressful. Others are not harmful in themselves, but depending on
our emotional makeup or our situation may cause stress. There are
situations which would not normally bother us that can become stressful
depending on how we view the situation.
Chapter 26: Ancient Job and Stress:
The book of Job in the Old Testament speaks to the effects of our
handling of stress as few other books in the Bible do. We, like Job, are often
faced with problems, frustrations, suffering, anger and fear. Suffering may
come upon us suddenly and unexplainably, or it may come gradually over a
period of time as our health deteriorates. Whether suffering comes upon us
gradually or suddenly, we may question, even as Job did, whether or not we
have the resources to cope with our situation. I have a feeling that many
people can see something of themselves in Job.
When we first met Job, he was a wealthy and respected family man
who was a powerful citizen of his community. It looked as if everything was
going his way, but in the midst of this picture of the good life came one
crisis after another, which radically changed Job's life. Misfortune followed
misfortune until at last came the worst news of all: the message that all of
his children were killed during a storm. Feeling the shock of all his losses,
Job cried, "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I
return. Nevertheless, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, Blessed
be the Name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)
When I talked with Mr. J.(my retired friend in the hospital), I told him
that he might find some help in the book of Job. At first, he had trouble
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seeing what he and Job might have in common other than bad health. All
that Mr. J. could remember about Job concerned his patience. At one time
or another, most of us have referred to the "patience of Job." I propose that
the essence of what we call "Job's patience" in reality comes from one's
immediate denial or refusal to believe shocking or disturbing news. In a
crisis situation, it is difficult to immediately accept the reality of what has
actually happened. When one is informed of the death of a loved one, a
dreaded disease, the loss of their job, betrayal by a friend, or the end of a
marriage, one's first reaction is usually shock and/or denial.
Following his financial loss and the tragic loss of his family, Job
developed large and painful sores which covered his entire body. Job's self-
fulfilling prophecy, "For the thing which I fear comes upon me, I am not at
ease, nor am I quiet: I have no rest, but trouble comes", (Job 3:25-26 RSV)
had come true.
It is logical to assume that the losses which Job experienced
contributed to his illness. He lost his wealth, his property, his position in the
community, all his children, the respect of his wife, his belief that God cared
for him and his hope. Anyone of these misfortunes would have placed great
emotional stress on any person, but put them together and they become an
almost unbearable burden. Job certainly had enough stress to weaken his
natural resistance to disease.
Chapter 27: The Effect of Stress Upon the Body:
1. Does what you think have any effect upon your body?
2. Can the improper handling of stress cause illness in your body?
3. Can the proper use of your mind and spirit improve you health and well-
being?
The French philosopher Rene` Descartes is best know for his five-word
maxim: "I think, therefore I am." Another of his revelations and one much
less truthful and accurate had a much greater impact on western world.
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More than 300 years ago, Descartes concluded that the mind, body, spirit
are distinct, autonomous, mutually exclusive entities. This assumption is at
odds with his famous statement, "I think therefor I am." Unfortunately for
centuries the Western approach to health, illness and medical treatment has
been based on Descartes belief that the mind, body and spirit are separate
entities. Today, we are discovering that what we think has a profound
effect upon our health. Dr. David Felton, professor of neurobiology anatomy
at the University of Rochester in New York said, "I can't imagine anyone
thinking that the mind and body can be separated" To complete the picture
of the integration of the mind and body, I would add a third entity which is
spirit.
Behind the mask people put on for the public; many are disturbed,
others are worried to the point of confusion, some are just frustrated with
life as it is. Most do not feel up to par; they experience a tiredness, a pain,
a disagreeable feeling, an inner hurt. They are worried about many things
and are experiencing apprehension, fear and anxiety. They are missing all
to much of the good life. They have been moving through their life’s journey
trying to avoid but always managing to find new troubles. They are
irritated more than happy and stressed more often than comfortable.
Blair Justice states that many of our sicknesses are strongly
influenced, both in its beginning and duration, "by the way we think and
behave - demanding no frustration, seeing problems as overwhelming,
looking for the worst, alienating ourselves and others, smoking, over-
drinking, overeating, no exercising." Blair goes on to say that "if a person
has poor coping skills, deficient social support and high stress, then the
internal balance of our bodies may be easily upset and our resistance
lowered." [Justice Blair, Who Gets Sick, p20]
There is an old proverb which states, "It is worry, not work, that kills."
Louis Orton states that worry wastes energy and puts a strain on an
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individual mentally and physically. The breathing becomes quicker and

superficial which affects the amount of oxygen inhaled and of carbon dioxide
exhaled. Worry interferes with the flow of digestive juices and effects the
digestive system. Worry alters the chemical composition of blood and
lymph. The continued effect of worry on the body can "provide a suitable
ground for many serious diseases." [Louis Orton, Hypnosis Made Practical
p61-62]
Dr. Herman Benson writes that the body and mind should never be
disassociated. "The mind and body are inseparable."[Herbert Benson The
Mind/Body Effect, p3] Leslie LeCron, writes that a person is a unity of
mind and body, each influencing the other. The whole individual must be
considered in dealing with emotional disturbances. The inner mind works
through the brain to control the body and to effect it. [Leslie LeCron, Self
Hypnosis, p28]
Accepting this view, one comes to the conclusion that each of us is a
participant in our own health; for better or worse. Think of how you feel
right now. Get a fix on your emotions, on what you are feeling. There may
be many different emotional feelings being experienced by each one reading
this. Suppose that each of you began to feel sick. Would your emotions be
the same as they were before you felt sick? I think we can agree that the
emotions would be different.
Think back to your last physical illness and consider whether or not
you were under some emotional stress or pressure prior to the illness. For
minor illnesses such as a cold or headache, the stressful situation may have
occurred only a short time before the illness. For more serious illnesses, the
stressful situation may have occurred several months before the illness. Carl
Simonton, working with cancer patients, write, "Our studies and others
suggest that these critical stresses are likely to have occurred six to eighteen
months prior to the diagnosis of the disease." [Carl & Stephanie Simonton &
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James Creigton, Getting Well Again, p87]

Lawrence LeShan is one of the "others" referred to in the Simonton
statement. He states that there were two major characteristics that
emerged in his study of cancer patients. The first characteristic concerned
the patient’s loss of his reason for being. This loss of the sense of purpose in
life predates the first symptoms of cancer. Quite often an important
relationship was interrupted by death, separation or misunderstanding so
that the person's life was shattered. Among those losses could be the death
of a spouse, divorce, child growing up and leaving home, the break up of a
meaningful relationship, the loss of a job, graduation from school, etc. The
second characteristic was an inability on the part of the individual to show
anger or resentment. [Lawrence LeShan, You Can Fight for Your Life, p22-
24]
It seems that our bodies are more susceptible to illness following an
emotional crisis than at any other time. It is not necessarily the stress, but
how we handle the stress that tends to lead to illness. It seems that the
improper handling of stress can reduce our natural immunity to disease. If
and when emotional stress reaches such a painful intensity that we cannot
deal with it, our bodies tend to get sick so that our minds can concentrate
on our physical illness rather than on the emotional stress.
We very often see people who are sick because of guilt feelings that
have not been resolved. A woman came to the hospital because she had lost
her voice. Though she had undergone many test, no physical cause could be
found which would prevent her from talking. After counseling, it was
discovered that she had spread some gossip that was very destructive for a
friend. Her subconscious mind prevailed upon her from further gossip by
eliminating her ability to speak. Once she recognized this and felt
forgiveness, she was able to talk again. Here is a case where a spiritual and
emotional problem; “guilt”, caused a physical problem; “speechlessness”.
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Frank S. Caprio states, “Exaggerated feelings of guilt - or even what you

think - can make you physically ill.” [Frank S. Caprio, Better Health with
Self Hypnosis p99-100]
In St. Luke 15, we read the familiar story of the prodigal son. The
son demands to be released from the care of his father and leaves home.
After a time, he finds himself alone; without friends or money. He comes to
realize that his broken relationship with the father had not brought him the
joy and freedom which he expected, but instead has brought him despair
and slavery.
Though he fears that he had sinned away his chance to be a son, he
will go to the father and ask to be a servant. The father sees him coming,
runs out to meet him, throws his arms around the boy and welcomes him
home as a son. The father tells the servants to prepare a party for his lost
son has returned. The Scripture tells us that as the older son returned from
the fields, he heard music and dancing. It was the dance of forgiveness. The
father invited him in to celebrate his brother’s return. As the older son had
resented his father’s acceptance of the younger brother, he was angry to see
his younger bother accepted and so refuse to join the party. The older son's
failure to enjoy his younger brother's party and dance was not the fault of
the father. As he welcomed the younger son, the father went out to meet
his older son and invited him to the party. Because the older son was out of
fellowship with both his brother and his father, he refused to enter the
party. He refused the dance of forgiveness and so missed the joy of the
party.
Before the younger brother returned, he was paralyzed by guilt. He
discovered that guilt destroyed his happiness. Guilt is a great destroyer of
our happiness and prevents us from enjoying life.
Like physical pain, the intensity of guilt is not necessarily an indication
of how serious the wrong may be. For instance, a hang nail may be more
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painful than certain stages of cancer. The same is true of guilt. Many of us
carry throughout our life an unnecessary weight of guilt for relatively small
mistakes or even supposed mistakes. On the other hand, the absence of the
discomforting feelings of guilt may not be a necessary sign of spiritual health.
That person may be living in the darkness where no shadow is cast.
Whether we feel guilt about small things, supposed mistakes or serious
breaks with God, the feeling must be resolved for us to dance. If we do not
resolve our guilt through accepting our forgiveness and by forgiving
ourselves, we will remain outside the party with the older son, unable to
dance. It is not that God turns his back upon us, but we cannot experience
God's loving presence in our life when we feel guilt.
So often unresolved guilt creates a need to make amends, to make
restitution, to suffer enough to pay back the wrong, to set things right by
damage to self and thus balance the account. We humans are made up of
body, mind, and spirit. If there is guilt at some point in one's life, the
individual may tend to manifest this spiritual disease by some physical
disease or injury, in order to punish himself.
Cecil Osborne writes that there is an inner mechanism within us which
tends to enforce the idea, "confess or be punished." Either we must feel a
sense of forgiveness or cleansing, or we will find a way to be punished or to
punish ourselves. We punish ourselves whether it is fake guilt or real guilt,
for the subconscious does not know the difference. This tendency has led
Cecil Osborne, former director of Yokefellows to write, "Guilt, whether real
or imaginary, can be handled in only two ways. It must be forgiven or
punished." [Cecil Osborne The Art of Understanding Your Self, p99-100] It
is not God who punishes us, but if we do not feel forgiven, we often find a
way to punish ourselves: physically, mentally, and/or emotionally.
To be forgiven, we must be open with God through confession and
repentance. In so doing, we release the pain of our guilt to him and make
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our forgiveness complete. We accept his divine forgiveness and forgive

ourselves. We can either be open with God and begin to dance, or we try to
hide from God and shut ourselves off from his healing, forgiving, redeeming
love.
One of the basic difficulties is not that we are reluctant to confess to
God, but that we are unable to believe deeply that God could really forgive
us instantly and without qualification. The prodigal son expected to be
rejected by the father. He was so sure of his rejection that he was prepared
to ask to be accepted as a servant instead of a son. When the son returned,
he was accepted. He was not even able to finish his prepared speech of
repentance for the father had already forgiven him. The son was forgiven
but, until he returned to the father; he could not be aware of, or accept, or
be healed by forgiveness.
When the individual has confessed and let go of his/her guilt, we can
say to them out the context their faith, "You don't have to feel guilty and
separated from God, for you are forgiven. You can leave the heavy weight
of your guilt behind. God has taken it from your back so now you are free
to dance to the music of God's love. Dancing in the sunshine, dancing in the
rain, dancing in health and dancing in pain, dancing during life, in death,
and throughout eternity."
I am not suggesting that all illness is the result of spiritual stress, nor
that emotional and spiritual stress always lead to physical illness, but that
we become more susceptible to disease when we have been experiencing
emotional/spiritual stress. I am not saying that our illnesses are an illusion
and if we think correctly or if our spirit is right with God we will not get
sick. Let's say that a group of people ate poison mushrooms which they
sincerely believed to be good mushrooms. Would any of those eating the
mushrooms get sick? Yes, I think it is most probably all would be sick unless
one had a natural immunity to poison mushrooms. On the other hand, if
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the people in the group all ate good mushrooms at their last meal but later
someone said, "I hope none of you ate mushrooms for lunch because they
were poison." Would any of those people get sick? I dare say that it is likely
that a few would get sick by just the suggestion that they had eaten bad
mushrooms and they would have the symptoms of having eaten poisoned
mushrooms.
As early as 1950, Dr. Hans Selyes of the University of Montreal was
saying that anger and frustration, induced by stressful situations, increases
the body's output of hormones. These provide a quick burst of energy and
strength that enables us to either meet the danger or run from it. But in
today's society, fight or flight are not always possible reactions to stress.
And when these hormones are not harmlessly discharged through action,
they create an imbalance, causing various kinds of damage - including
depression of the immune system, which helps protect us against illnesses.
[Judith Glossman, “When Your Mind Can Cure Your Body”, McCall, April,
1981 p85]
Alfred Adler states that to some degree every emotion finds some
expression in the body. The emotion will be seen in some visible form such
as in the person's posture. The emotion may be seen in the face or
trembling of a person's legs. Changes can also take place in the organs of
the body and the circulation of blood. "If we examine more closely, we shall
find that every part of the body is involved in an emotional expression and
that these physical expressions are consequences of the action of the body
and mind." [Alfred Adler. What Life Should Mean to You, p44-44]
Look at the emotion of anger. What are some of the external
manifestations of anger? The chief external manifestations are a reddening
of the face, a widening or tightening of the eyelids, blood shot eyes,
contraction and tightening of the lips, a setting of the jaw, clenching of the
fists and a tremor in the voice.
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Whether the outward signs are present or covered up, more profound
and remarkable changes are taking place inside the body. What are some of
these internal changes? The internal manifestations of anger are the blood
thickens, the blood clots quicker than normal, the muscles of the stomach
squeezes down so tightly that the stomach and the entire digestive track is
affected, the heart rate increases rapidly and the blood pressure rises
markedly. These manifestations can often produce bad results, such as a
stroke or heart attack.
Occasionally when a person sits in a draft, he or she may catch a cold,
while on another occasions they do not. In order to catch a cold, there must
be some other element at work besides sitting in a draft. Do you agree that
germs cause colds? If I had a cold and coughed in the face of several people
and those people breathed germs that came from my body, would all of
those people catch a cold? I doubt that all would. In order to catch a cold,
there must be some other element at work besides breathing in germs. I
contend that stress is the element at work in addition to sitting in a draft
or breathing in germs. Stress not recognized or improperly handled has a
tendency to reduce our natural immunity to disease.
Paul E. Johnson adds his voice to those of us who see that emotional
stress plays a very definite part in our illnesses. He suggests that emotional
tension such as fear, anger, guilt, frustrated desire; may cause peptic ulcers,
vomiting, indigestion, loss or excess of appetite, diarrhea, constipation,
mucous colitis, high blood pressure, palpitations and irregular beat of the
heart, hay fever, laryngitis, chronic cough, skin problems, convulsions,
headache, genito-urinary disturbance, thyroid disorder, diabetic, and so
forth. [Paul Johnson & David Balguim (ed.) , p34]
The Simontons and Arnold A. Hutschnecker would add cancer to the
above list. Hutschnecker wrote, "We ourselves choose the time of illness, the
kind of illness, the course of illness and its gravity. We are moving toward a
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recognition that with illness of any kind, from the common cold to cancer,
emotional stress plays a part." [Maggie Scarf, Psychology Today, April,
1981, p33] Saying that we participate in the state of our health is not
intended to produce guilt for being sick, but to give hope toward health.
Though we continue to rely on proper medical procedures, we can add our
own hopeful expectation to stay healthy and to have an effect upon our
healing process when sick or injured. The writer of Proverbs put it this way,
"A cheerful heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit makes one
sick." (Proverbs 17:23)
I have missed only thirteens days of work at Pendleton Memorial
Methodist Hospital in over twenty-five years. Looking back at the first time
I missed a "half" day, I had been under a lot of pressure during the three
weeks prior to the onset of the symptoms. The only other chaplain working
at Methodist Hospital had been admitted to the hospital about three weeks
prior to my catching the cold. He was in the hospital for over a week and
had spent two weeks recuperating at home. During that period, I was "on
call" twenty-four hours a day and had not taken a single day off.
I needed some time off, but I felt pressed to be present in the hospital
each day. In the end, my body said to me, "If you will not take a day off,
I'll get you sick and then you will have to take some time off." The next
day, I came to work with a bad cough, a sore throat and runny nose.
Around noon, I told our secretary that I was taking the afternoon off
because I could not visit the patients with the cold I had. Though I did not
want to be sick, the cold gave me a legitimate excuse to take the afternoon
off for some rest. Perhaps if I had taken an afternoon off a few days prior
to getting sick, I could have avoided the cold altogether.
To demonstrate how our thinking offsets our body, try this exercise.
Have a friend hold out their left/right arm, depending upon their dominant
side. With the arm held out at shoulder level, have them resist as you push
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down. Ask the person to think a joyful or happy thought and resist. You
will find a strong resistance to your pushing down.
Now ask the person to think a sad thought and resist you. As you
push down, you will find the person offers much less resistance and the arm
goes down easily. If a person can lose strength in his arm with a sad
thought, what happens if a person thinks sad and negative thoughts day
after day, week after week, month after month?
Lance Webb has observed that our physical illnesses may be a cover to
hide a deeper illness of mind and spirit. He concludes, "We may take
advantage of our illness either as a means of drawing attention to ourselves
or to hide a deeper fear of insufficiency...." [Lance Webb, p178]
If one needs affection, but only receives affection when he or she is ill,
then illness may meet his or her need. The subconscious mind says, "I will
get the attention I need by getting sick." The subconscious mind does not
care that the body experiences pain, for the person's deepest need for
affection is being met.
A very prominent man was stricken with a stroke. During my first
visit, I discovered that he was the son of a famous man. The son had
followed his father in their occupation, but due to the world situation
realized that he would never reach the heights which his father had
attained. Though he was successful, he could not accept the fact that he was
unique in his accomplishments because they seemed small to him in
comparison with the accomplishments of his father. Feeling that he could
never be the man his father had been, he had a stroke. Now he had an
excuse for his inability to reach the heights his father had accomplished. He
could now say, "If I had not suffered this damn stroke, I would have been as
famous as my father."
Up to this point, I have been making three points:
1) Our bodies are affected by our emotions.
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2) Our resistance to illness goes down when we do not properly handle

emotional stress.
3) There are certain gains we receive from illness.
Chapter 28: Job's Illness and Healing:
Feeling defeated by his many losses and fearing God had deserted him,
Job lost hope; with the loss of hope, he became ill. Bruce Larson wrote that
our feelings about ourselves and others and the importance of our
relationships may have more to do with how often we get sick and how soon
we get well than do our genes, chemistry, diet, or environment. Profound
feelings of hopelessness cause changes in our norepinephrine levels, a brain
chemical which affects the transmission of sympathetic nerve impulses. "So
it seems that hopelessness can make us sick even unto death, while hope is a
powerful antidote to illness." [Bruce Larson, p9-11]
Viktor Frankl, speaking of a man who was trying to keep his fellow
prisoners alive in a World War II German concentration camp wrote, "He
talked about many comrades who had died in the last few days, either of
sickness or suicide. But also he mentioned what may have been the real
reason for their death; giving up hope." [Viktor Frankl, p129]
It is logical to assume that the losses which Job experienced played a
part in his illness. He lost his wealth, his property, his position in the
community, all his children, the respect of his wife, his belief that God cared
for him and finally his loss of hope which was the most destructive loss.
When all of these losses are put together, they become an almost unbearable
burden.
Reeling under the shock of his losses, Job withdraws to be by himself.
At first, Job could not properly express the emotions he felt. As a result,
Job became sick with large and painful sores which covered his body. Leslie
Weatherhead writes, "If emotion is neither expressed in its appropriate
action or even admitted to consciousness, it will have its revenge by setting
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up some form of mental or physical distress." [Leslie Weatherhead, p 359]

Three friends came to visit Job and a long time, they sat in silence
with him. Believing that his friends would understand, Job told them of his
feelings of frustration, anger and his own lack of understanding concerning
the terrible misfortunes of his life. Job says, "I am weary of living. Let me
complain freely. I will speak in my sorrow and bitterness. I will say to God,
`Don't just condemn me - tell me why you are doing it. Does it really seem
right to you to oppress and despise me . . . are you unjust like men . . that
you must hound me for the sins you know full well I've not committed?'"
(Job 10: 1-7)
Though it was clear to Job that he was angry with God for his
misfortune, many people facing a crisis do not know who to be angry with.
Not knowing who to be angry with, some will show their anger toward
family, friends, doctors, nurses, self, clergy, God, others, all.
As I approached Mr. C.'s bed, I could tell by the expression on his face
that he was angry. I extended my hand toward him and said, "Hello, I am
Chaplain Durbin, the hospital Chaplain." He responded, "Put your hand
down, I refuse to shake hands with anyone connected with the hospital." I
said, "I am sorry that you feel that way. What has happened to make you
so unhappy with the services of our hospital?" He answered with a number
of complaints about the nurses, his doctor, and food service. I told him that
I would like to ask the patient representative to visit him and hopefully some
of his problems with the hospital staff could be corrected.
After several visits, Mr. C. and I became friends when he learned that I
was a retired Army Chaplain . After 30 years of active duty, Mr. C. had
retired from the Army and shortly thereafter, he had a stroke. He had
always been a man in control of other men and now he could not even
control his body. This was very frustrating to him, so he took out his anger
on anyone who was available. After several visits he began to see the reason
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for his anger and was able to work toward releasing its hold on him in non-
destructive ways.
From my experience as a hospital chaplain, I came to the conclusion
that to properly express one's anger is a healthy reaction to hurt. A person
should not express his or her anger in destructive ways, but should discuss it
with a non-judgmental counselor whom he can trust. Through counseling,
the person may discover what he or she is angry about and how properly to
express it. By doing so, the person has the opportunity to release the anger
and therefore be freed of its hold.
Job expressed his anger to God before his friends. The reaction of
Job's friends were very similar to the reaction of many people today.
Instead of being servants of God in love and concern for Job, they felt they
needed to defend God. As servants, we are concerned with the hurt of
people and how the hurt may be healed or endured. As defenders, we are
concerned about the hurt as a threat to our faith. When the needs of the
other person is the center of our concern, we respond to them in love and
care. When we are threatened by the needs of others, we react and become
defensive of our position. When a person asks, "Why God! am I having to go
through this?", the response of the defender is usually, "You can't question
God."
Job was not afraid to ask "why", nor was he willing to stop with the
question, but struggled through it to a greater faith. Those who ask, "Why
does wickedness so often triumph?", will find Job wrestling with the same
question. Those who cannot comprehend why the righteous suffer beyond
anything they could deserve will find Job thinking their thoughts. Those
who do not understand why they are suffering will find their bewilderment
echoed in the stirring prayers of Job. (Job 2:11-12, 20-21, Job 6:24-30,
Job 7:1-6, Job 23:1-5)
The first reaction of many to these prayers is "How can anyone of
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faith say these things?" At times, don't most of us feel like saying something
similar to those prayers? Miss M. was in the hospital because of a brain
tumor and was scheduled for surgery the following day. She began our
conversation by telling me that she was afraid of losing her faith. She had
been a Christian for a number of years and came from a background which
taught that to question God was to doubt God. Her local pastor had visited
her earlier in the day and had reinforced that belief. She expressed some
fears and doubts about the success of her upcoming surgery to her pastor.
He told her that she must not feel that way and she should not question
God's ability nor His willingness to bring about her healing.
I allowed her to talk of her fears and attempted to assure her that she
was experiencing normal feelings of anxiety. I shared with her some of Job's
questions. I told her that when we have a question on our mind, it should
be acknowledged and released before we can really feel that God loves us
and cares for us.
If I need to ask you a question, but I cannot trust you to accept my
question, then I have built a barrier between you and me. I feel that the
same thing is true when I have a question for God, but cannot trust him to
accept my question. If God cannot accept my questions, how can I trust
God to accept me? It is as we are able to trust God to accept us with our
questions that we can get beyond the questions to greater faith.
To question is not to doubt, but to seek meaning in the midst of our
situation. Some have called Job, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and the writer of
Ecclesiastes "the skeptics of the Old Testament." For most people, skepticism
or doubt of any kind means unbelief, and this leads many to fear questions.
For some to question is to doubt, so they fail to bring to light the unspoken
questions which lie buried somewhere inside themselves. By leaving their
questions buried inside, they fail to bring them to God where they can be
resolved and released.
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Following anger, the next response to crisis is usually an attempt to

make a bargain for a better deal. In Job's case, his friends told him that he
should stop being angry and should make amends to God. They promised
that if he would only repent, God would restore his health and wealth. The
person who considers bargaining says to himself. "If I cannot change my
situation by denying it or by being angry about it, maybe I can make a
bargain with God to change my situation."
Job refuses to consider any kind of bargain and moves directly from
anger to depression. Job felt that he had enough. He was despondent and
wished for death. This feeling is in line with Hutschnecker's statement,
"Depression is a partial surrender to death." [Scarf p33] Job felt insecure
and hopeless for he believed that God had deserted him in his suffering. He
felt that he could accept his suffering if only he could be assured or given
hope that God had not abandoned him. I know that there are times when
we feel that God does not hear our prayers or is not concerned with our
situation. Many have said to me, "Chaplain, I don't feel that my prayers
mean anything to God. God just doesn't seem to be listening to me."
Listen to Job, "Behold I go forward but he is not there and backwards,
but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, when he hath work, but I
cannot behold him, he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see
him." (Job 23: 8) Job's problem was that he felt cut off from God and with
that came feelings of abandonment, helplessness and hopelessness which
almost overwhelmed him. In the midst of his despair, God came to Job in a
whirlwind. In the valley of the shadow of death, Job experienced of God's
presence.
If you go to the book of Job to find an answer to the question, "Why
do we suffer?", you will find no theological answer. The voice from the
whirlwind asks us to recognize our limitations and to trust God when we do
not understand. God calls upon us to hang on and not give up on our faith
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even when there is every reason to give up. Without answering our
questions, faith allows us to live in a world where evil exists without being
beaten by it. Perhaps the true test of faith is whether faith can continue
without proof or demonstration to back it up.
As Job shared his burden with God, God came to him in a whirlwind
and assured Job of God's presence and love. Job proclaimed, "I have heard
of thee by the hearing of the ear, now mine eyes seeth thee." (Job 42) In
reference to the theory that emotional stress can cause or add to our
physical illness, I believe that the proper handling of stress can help us move
toward health. It is interesting to note that once Job had experienced God
and was convinced that God had not forsaken him, his hope returned and
healing began.
Blair Justice states that research shows that people who live long lives
characteristically have a sense of hope, order and control in their lives. "The
Hope Habit" seems to encourage long life by reducing the effect of stress on
the body and by turning on the self-healing system. [Justice, p263]
The great Scottish surgeon and teacher of anatomy, James Hunter
(1728-1793) asserted, "As one state of mind is capable of producing a
disease, another state of mind effects a cure." [Orton, p.62] Lawrence
LeSham indicates that hope is the main ingredient in overcoming cancer.
Hope allows an individual to accept his own being as valid and helps the
person seek self-fulfillment. The individual whose hope enables him to deal
with temporary setbacks appears to be most resistant to cancer. "Among
those stricken by the disease, the people most capable of recovery are the
men and women who can discover a new well-spring of hope, whatever
their past disappointments, and move on to a fresh sense of themselves, a
true recognition of their needs, and of their worth as human beings."
[LeSham,p13]
It is important to note that hope in the religious or spiritual sense of
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the word is different from the hope of everyday usage. The spiritual
understanding of hope is an expectation of the fulfillment of the desire. St.
Paul wrote, "With unflagging energy, in ardor of spirit, serve the Lord. Let
hope keep you joyful; in trouble stand firm; persist in prayer." (Romans
12:11-12)
In his call of hope, does Paul mean that we should live our lives in a
dream world of wishful thinking? I wish I had this or that. Is that what
hope is all about? No! To hope in faith language is not daydreaming or
wishful thinking, but confident expectation. Where Paul advises us to live in
hope, he is calling us to live our life in hopeful expectation of that which is
not yet, but can be.
Hope is the outreach of our inner life for courage, meaning, and
wholeness. Hope is the reality which transforms mere existence or even self-
destructive tendencies to a life lived by positive affirmation. This positive life
affirmation is more than giving lip service to hope but it is a way of life.
Sometimes our hoping is for something specific while at other times, it is
more our openness to life's opportunities. In either case, the person of hope
lives in a world of open doors and hopeful expectation for the good in life.
I am sometimes asked, "Aren't you giving your clients/patients false
hope." My answer is "No," I am giving them reasonable hope. My approach
does not guarantee recovery. But the question of "false hope" suggest that
people should never have hope if there is a good chance they will be
disappointed. Such a belief provides no basis for living a full life or for
dealing with a threat to life. People without hope do die.
Patients who have worked hard using my approach have still died,
although in many cases they have significantly outlived their prognoses -
and lived a more rewarding life than they would have had they not actively
participated in their treatment. We live in bodies that will someday die.
That is a fact of life. I include therapy designed to help the patient
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confront the possibility of death openly - an attitude that frees energy for
living.
People who are concerned with "false hope" often see themselves as
realists, people who see life "as it really is." But a life view that does not
include hope is not realism but pessimism. This stance may avoid
disappointment, but it does so by actively increasing negative outcome.
Hope is an important element in survival for the cancer patient.
Indeed, as the studies indicated, hopelessness and helplessness are frequent
precursors of cancer. The hope we try to impart is essentially a stance
toward life. It is not just a matter of philosophy, but of survival.
It has been said that there are no hopeless situations: there are only
people who have grown hopeless about their situation. In the light of
experience, it is easy for us to despair when things go badly. There are
times when we are tempted into a cynical acceptance of a situation and to
say, "What is the use?" These are the times when we are tempted to accept
a defeated attitude that neither people, nor the world, nor our situation will
ever be better. I believe that if we earnestly seek an open door, we can have
hope and find meaning in our life. Someone once wrote, "If God shuts one
door, He opens another."
William James once said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is
that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind."
We can alter our lives by altering the attitudes of our mind. This is true of
any physical, emotional or spiritual situation in which we find ourselves. As
long as we can think, as long as we have mental capability, we can change
the effect of the situation in our lives.
We can use hopeful expectation for our physical, emotional, and
spiritual improvement and well-being. We are discovering that many of our
body's functions which we felt we had no conscious control over can be
significantly influenced by our mental attitude. Through relaxation and
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visual imagery and hypnosis, you can learn to control body functions to
include the ability to raise or lower temperature and blood pressure, to stop
bleeding, to speed up the healing process and to reduce tension, stress, and
pain.
By the use of relaxation, imagery and hypnosis; we can have a greater
effect upon our body and life than we ever thought possible. To follow this
procedure you should become as relaxed as possible in either a bed or a
chair. When you are comfortable, close your eyes, relax, and let your mind's
eye begin to help you. Imagine the discomfort vanishing, imagine your
illness healed, imagine your broken bones mended, your wounds healed. As
you visualize or imagine these things with hopeful expectation, your body
begins to respond in a positive helpful way. You are not totally under the
control of your distress. Your mind can help you to improve and heal.
Visualizing what you want to happen as if it has already happened helps
your subconscious mind have a model to work toward. It is part of God's
healing plan. It will help you experience a better quality of life.
A few years ago there was a story in Guidepost Magazine by Lew
Miller entitled, "In Tune with the Infinite." Lew was wounded during World
War II and was told that he would never walk again. At first, he
experienced despair and was tempted to give up. Lew began to pray for his
recovery by means of mental images. He states, "I saw myself walking,
speaking in public to audiences, writing articles and stories, running, driving
a car, raising a family and directing civic and charitable projects." He
pictured these things over and over again.
Though it took a long time, changes began to happen. Healing came
and Lew did walk again. It was not all at once for it took months.
Throughout the time of his recovery, he kept a healing image in his mind.
He believed that he would be healed and said, "To believe is to have complete
faith in your prayers (thoughts). To believe that you have already received,
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you need only to visualize yourself as possessing it now. Belief in your

mental images is the perfect expressions of faith." He took Jesus' statement
in Mark 11:24 seriously and used it as a model for his imagery. Jesus'
words were "What things should you desire when you pray, believe that you
receive them and you shall have them."
This hopeful expectation and visual imagery enhances a person's own
immune system which helps one fight germs and infections, decrease tension
and stress and helps one alter the stance of helplessness and hopelessness.
These methods along with traditional medical treatment and faith in the
God who cares can help in healing. Even with those illnesses and injuries
which cannot be helped, hopeful expectation brings about an improved
quality of life.
As we use relaxation, imagery, hypnosis and faith, the horizons of our
hope expand. In the midst of frustration and conflict, there is hope for
inner unity and harmony. In the midst of destructive and threatening
human relationships, there is the hope for mutually enhancing and fulfilling
relationships. In the midst of the pain, injury and sickness; we live by hope
which is based upon faith.
Whereas the person of despair lives with a sense of being trapped, the
person of hope feels that somehow there is a way out or a way through and
there is the potential for meaning in his or her situation. The person of
hope is able to wait, not simply in defeat and resignation, but in anticipation
of what is not yet, but can be.
This hopeful expectation can be used not only for health but for every
aspect of your life. Imagine what you want to happen in your life is not as
daydreaming, but as a goal to attain. By the use of imagery, your
subconscious has a model to work with. What you think about deeply
enough and often enough, you tend to become.
No longer feeling abandoned by God, Job was released from emotional
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stress and could concentrate on his healing. Healing may or may not come
to us in our illness, but a positive hopeful expectation allows the body to
respond more positively to treatment received. The writer of Proverbs
might have been thinking of hopeful expectations when he wrote, "He who
diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches for evil, it will come
upon him." (Proverb 11:27) and "The spirit of man can endure his sickness,
but a broken spirit who can bear." (Proverb 18:14)
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote, "Some people have found health,
vitality, and increased strength through right thinking, especially spiritual
thinking." [Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Thinking For A Time Like This,,
p111] Goethe, the German philosophic poet wrote, "There is no
predicament that cannot be enabled either by doing or enduring." [Robert
Leslie, p96] Viktor Frankl has said, "Everybody can be helped, if not
directly by psychoanalytic approaches, then indirectly by helping the patient
change his attitudes." [Leslie, p96] That is what happened to Job. He
found the motivation for change through his relationship with God, which
renewed his hope. With hopeful expectation, both his attitude and situation
changed for the better.
Saying that we participate in the state of our health is not intended to
produce guilt for being sick, but to give hope that we can move toward
health. Though we continue to rely on medical procedures, we can add our
own hopeful expectation which increases our ability to overcome our illness
or to better endure that which we cannot overcome. Chaplain Carl R.
Stephen writes:
Holistic medicine views illness as an opportunity for discovery as
well as misfortune. This resonates with Judo-Christian tradition.
Holism desires to enable persons to understand that
psychological stress - loss, unemployment or simply change -
may take the forms of organic pathology and emotional
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problems. There is no place in holism for accusation. Holism

wants to enable the person to appreciate how he participated in
becoming ill in order to insure participation in getting well
again. (Carl R. Stephens, “Holistic Medicine and the Chaplain”,
APHA Bulletin, March 1980, p108)
Chapter 29: Cancer Patient: Bee’s Case History:
I would like to share with you a case history of a cancer patient I
worked with using hypnosis. When I work with a patient who has a
terminal disease, I tell them that we are working for a better quality of life
as well as healing. To increase exceptions for good results, I began with
information in the following areas:
1. I assist patients to focus all their mental, emotional, spiritual and
physical energies on health.
2. I emphasize the importance of mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of
healing.
3. In focusing on the mental and spiritual, I am aware that physical things
seem much more real. We talk about "mind over matter," but for many
that is only a concept. Most of our science rests on the premise that to be
"real" something must be predictable, measurable, and repeatable.
4. This way of thinking is reflected in how we think about the body. If I tell
you "lift your arms" or "close your eyes" you could all do it. That would
seem natural. These things are under our conscious control. These kinds of
things are controlled by the central nervous system. But if I said "the
discomfort is being released from your body and you are feeling better and
better" or "Relax the blood vessels in your head so that the headache is
relieved." Many would discount that suggestion or think I was just joking
with them.
5. Research has demonstrated that you could quickly learn to follow each of
those suggestions. If provided with proper directions, you could soon learn
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to reduce discomfort in your body or to relax blood vessels to your head to

reduce or eliminate a headache.
6. Some conscious control over internal "involuntary" processes can be
accomplished by hypnosis, relaxation, guided imagery and visualizing. If you
wanted to feel warmer, you could imagine yourself on a warm tropical
beach with the sun covering your body with its warm rays and the warm
sand beneath you warming you. You actually feel warmer. Thought and
images in your mind changed how your body felt.
7. But the "mind" controls your body in an even more remarkable way for
your attitudes and beliefs will affect how much control you have over
internal bodily functions.
a. Psychologists have developed a test that distinguishes "internals"-people
who believe they are responsible for their own behavior and create their own
experiences -- and "externals" -- people who believe their behavior and
their experiences are controlled by luck or fate.
b. "Internals" are able to exercise greater control over their heart rate
than "externals."
c. "Internals" can decrease their heart rate while in a light state of
hypnosis and proper suggestions; "externals" may need a deeper
hypnotic state with suggestions to accomplish the same task.
d. The difference was their "beliefs" and their "expectations."
8. How does this relate to the patient and their cancer? I believe that a
person's beliefs about themselves and their cancer will have a great deal of
impact on the outcome of their treatment.
9. The mind, body and emotions are a unit and act together.
10. If the patient believes their cancer will kill them, it is more likely to do
so. If the patient believes their treatment is helping them, it is more likely
to help them.
11. Attitudes produce real effects: good or bad.
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12. The "imagines in our mind" affect physical reality.

13. Hypnosis, relaxation, guided imagery and visualization are ways to
focus attitudes and beliefs to mobilize spiritual, emotional, mental and
physical energy in a desired direction.
Bee (not her real name) was referred to me by her doctor after her
second hospitalization with cancer. I met Bee about two years before when
she had a breast removed and again when she returned to the hospital with
a lump in her remaining breast. She refused to have more surgery, but
agreed to chemotherapy. As Bee was very sick between each of her
chemotherapy treatments, her doctor referred her to me for pain
management and emotional/spiritual support. For cancer patients, I follow a
course of therapy based on the Simonton’s approach. (Carl and Stephanie
Simonton and James Creigton Getting Well Again)
I used imagery with Bee and had her use it during her self-hypnosis
sessions. I used imagery that would help:
1. Increase the number of healthy white blood cells. (Imagine the number of
white blood cells increasing and image the cancer cells as weak and
disorganized cells that they, in truth are.)
2. Increase the number of natural T killer cells and T helper cells. (Both T
killer cells and T helper cells are destructive to cancer cells.)
3. Increase the power of any cancer fighting medication or radiation by
imaging them as allies in the battle to defeat the cancer and bring healing.
(See your chemotherapy/radiation killing cancer cells but not destroying
healthy cells.)
4. Increase activity of bone marrow-producing healthy cells
5. Imagine the cancer cells decreasing and gone.
Near the end of her first visit, I gave Bee some homework. I asked her
to write down any stressful situations she had experienced over the 6-18
months before her diagnosis. She listed the following: (Simonton’s studies
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shows that most cancer patients went through some very stressful events
anywhere from 6-18 months prior to diagnosis of the disease. They found
that the inappropriate handling of stress reduces the immune system and
weakens an individuals resistance to cancer and/or other diseases. Simonton
p87)
1. A year before her cancer was discovered, her husband left her and
their children for another woman.
2. The next month, she had to go to work to support herself and the
children.
3. Filed for divorce.
4. Had first date with another man.
5. Found lump in her breast and breast was removed.
6. Divorce final.
7. Married the man she had been dating.
8. Another lump was found in her breast and returned to the hospital.
During the second session we discussed the above list and I taught her
several pain reduction and elimination techniques. I pointed out that there
are four things that contributes to one's ability to obtain pain relief with
self-hypnosis:
1. Your success in developing self-hypnosis trance. Success with self-hypnosis
techniques is a matter of practice. You need to experiment with various
approaches, suggestions and kinds of imagery. Relaxation in many cases will
relieve a considerable amount of pain. Muscle tension often puts pressure on
nerves and this aggravates discomfort. Easing your tension is the first goal.
Then you can begin dealing directly with the pain.
2. Motivation for pain relief means freeing yourself from the need to keep
pain in your life. It may seem unbelievable that you might "need" to keep
pain. But often there are advantages as-well-as disadvantages to pain
problems. If pain results in you getting secondary gains and getting out of
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responsibilities you do not like, these benefits can reduce your motivation to
feel better.
3. You may fear letting go of your pain. Because pain can be a signal that
we are alive, we may fear shutting it off.
4. You can have some control over your pain. Pain serves our survival needs
and we have the some control over it. (Some excerpts from Alman, B and
Lambrou, P; Self-Hypnosis,)
CHRIST BY BEDSIDE SCRIPT: Bee was a religious person, I suggested
that she visualize Jesus beside her bed and visualize Jesus as vividly as
possible. "Jesus is placing his hand on the area of discomfort (or one could
say, "placed his hand on your head") You begin to feel the hand of Jesus
pulling the discomfort out of your body. His touch is causing your own brain
to produce more healing chemicals and it is sending them to the area of
discomfort. The warmth of Jesus' hand is bringing ease to the area. Slowly
but surely the discomfort is being pulled out of your body. His touch is
bringing comfort and healing. I repeated this in various ways and then
suggested that the physical presence of Jesus was fading away, but his
spiritual presence would remain. (Of course, I would not use this imagery
with a person who was not religious or of a non-Christian faith.) When
religious imagery would not be appropriate or for additional methods, I have
many techniques that I teach the client. Having several scripts to use allows
the patient a variety of methods to reduce pain.
PAIN VAPORING AS STEAM: Some techniques which I taught Bee
over the course of her therapy with general illustrations, follows: For this
illustration, let us assume the patient's pain is in the knee. I have the
patient visualize the discomfort leaving the knee as a vapor of steam. I
repeat softly, as steam rises from a kettle so the discomfort is leaving your
knee as steam. Visualize the steam rising from your knee and as the steam
rises, the discomfort is evaporating. As the steam rises, the discomfort is
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leaving and you are feeling more and more comfortable. I repeat the idea of
comfort many times and then I count the client out of hypnosis.
PAIN IN A BOX ATTACHED TO A HELIUM BALLOON: Sometimes I
have the client imagine that they are placing all of their discomfort (pain) in
a box. I suggest, now imagine that you are attaching the box to a ribbon
which is attached to a helium filled balloon. The balloon is lighter than air so
when you let go of the box it will begin to float upward. Just imagine that
you are lying on a blanket in a beautiful garden and you let go of the box
containing your discomfort. The balloon with the box attached begins to
float upwards. As the balloon goes higher and higher, the box gets smaller
and smaller and as the box gets smaller and smaller, the discomfort is less
and less. The balloon goes higher and higher, the box gets smaller and
smaller and the discomfort less and less. As the balloon goes higher and
higher, the box gets smaller and smaller and you feel more and more
comfortable. (repeat the last sentence several times) The box is going,
going, going, it is out of your sight and you feel very, very good, very, very
comfortable.
GLOVE ANESTHESIA: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts)
REDUCING HEADACHES BY RELAXING BLOOD VESSELS: For a
headache, I ask the client to visualize the blood vessels in her head are tight
and tense. The discomfort comes as the blood tries to flow through those
tight vessels. Under hypnosis, I have the client make a tight fist and I say:
As you relax your hand, the vessels in your head are relaxing, as the vessels
relax, you feel more and more comfortable. Visualize the blood vessels
relaxing and the blood flowing freely with out stress or tension. As the
blood flows freely, you become more and more comfortable.
WARM HAND FOR HEADACHE REDUCTION: A second method of
headache relief is to imagine the hand on the opposite side of the headache,
or both hands if the headache is general, becoming very warm. Picture your
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hands warming near a fire place. The hands become warmer and warmer.
The excess blood, which is putting a strain on the blood vessels in your head,
begins to flow from the head into the hand. As the blood flows from the
head into the hand, you become more and more comfortable (repeat these
ideas in various ways).
REDUCING THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF CHEMO-THERAPY: Cancer
patients often get very nauseated by just the thought of chemo-therapy or
when they come into the hospital or treatment room for chemo-therapy.
In a recent study discussed by Gary R. Morrow, M.D. and Christine
Morrell in the New England Journal of Medicine, 40 patients were followed:
Twenty were given relaxation exercise and suggestions for comfort and
healing with their chemo-therapy and twenty just followed the chemo-
therapy routine. Of those who practiced relaxation and gave themselves
suggestions of comfort and healing, half had no more nausea and half said
their discomfort was less severe than before. Of the twenty patients who
followed the regular chemo-therapy routine, 95% continued to be sick.
I have found that relaxation, imagery and hypnosis are important
assets in the reduction of the side effects of chemo-therapy. I have the
client visualize their white blood cells joining with the chemo-therapy to
destroy any enemies to their health. This is done in such a way to help the
patient see their chemo-therapy as their friend with their own white cells
destroying the cancer and bringing healing to their body.
If they are experiencing nausea, I have them visualize the stomach
containing a reddish fluid. I have them visualize the reddish fluid slowly
turning to a clear fluid. I say, "As the color changes, you are feeling more
and more comfortable. All discomfort is leaving as the fluid becomes clear.
You are feeling more and more comfortable." I repeat this several times.
I have the client visualize coming into the hospital or treatment clinic,
going through the admit procedures, sitting down in their room, and taking
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the chemo-therapy without any discomfort. I have them visualize

themselves relating to the nurses and hospital staff in a friendly and easy
manner.
I have them repeat to themselves several times, "I go through my
chemo-therapy feeling good and comfortable." I have them seeing
themselves well, feeling good, and being active. In their suggestion and
visualization, I emphasize that they use suggestions and visualizations of what
they desire to be in the present tense. That may seem unusual because we
are accustomed to speaking of the future in the future tense, but the
subconscious mind response much better to suggestion in the present tense
as if it has already happened. I teach the client self hypnosis so that they
can visualize this between treatments. I recommend that they use
visualization at least once a day.
I now return to Bee’s case as it progressed. I ask Bee to list the gains
she received from her illness. At first she said that she had not received any
gains, but as she thought about it, she came up with four gains.
1. Did not have to work.
2. Could take it easy.
3. Gets more attention.
4. Could say "no" without worrying about hurting other people's feelings.
We discussed how she could accomplish these gains without the excuse
provided her by being sick. We talked about relaxation therapy, image
therapy and hypnosis to help her deal with a wide range of issues in her life.
I explained what hypnosis was and what it was not and how she could use it
to reduce or eliminate pain and improve her life style. Since she began
chemotherapy, Bee had been spending a majority of time lying in bed. I
asked her to do the relaxation therapy, image therapy, and self-hypnosis
three times a day.
When Bee first came to me, she could see only sickness, pain, and
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death in her future. I addressed these concerns by suggesting that she

visualize herself getting better and doing things that she enjoyed doing. This
helped her to have a more hopeful attitude and a better quality of life. In
Matthew (6: 22-23) we read, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your
eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light: but if your eye is not
sound, your whole body will be full of darkness." I suggested that this
scripture has more to do with one's attitude and expectation than it does
with physical sight. It is how you look upon life that makes a difference.
Norman Vincent Peale said, "This means that the way you see things, the
attitude you take, the slant of your thinking determines whether your whole
body shall be full of darkness and gloom, or light and joy. It's how you see
or look upon life that makes the difference." [Peale, p25] These were direct
and indirect suggestions for her to make some changes in her attitude by
imagining what she wanted to happen as if it had already happened. I
shared with her the words of Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, "Picture yourself
as defeated and that alone will make victory impossible. Picture yourself
vividly as winning and that alone will contribute to success. Great living
starts with a picture held in your imagination of what you would like to do
or be."
HEALING FROM WITHIN: (Refer to Chapter 8: Hypnotherapy Scripts):
I asked Bee to set some attainable goals for the future. When one goal
is reached, she can set another. The goal setting is an ongoing process. In
goal setting, when a goal is attained, you can choose another and even have
several goals at one time.
Establishing goals serves five purposes:
1. Setting goals is different from making a bargain. A bargain may be, “If
I just live to see my daughter graduate in May, then I will be ready to die.”
A goal is “One of my goals is to see my daughter graduate from college in
May.”
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2. Establishing goals is an affirmation of the ability to create the experiences

needed to meet emotional and spiritual needs.
3. Goals serve to focus a person’s attention and energy in a positive
direction and establish “hopeful expectation.”
4. Goals are affirmations of life.
5. Establishing goals is a re-investment of meaning in life.
I asked her to set aside a regular schedule for exercise and play. In a
seminar, Richard Haas said, "Historically, it has long been recognized that
stress related occasions may be reduced through exercise. These exercises
reduce stress and depression. They encourage enhancement of the lives of
people physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. There is no doubt in
my mind that proper exercise improves both physical and mental health of a
person."
We discussed how her resentment toward her first husband and his
new wife interfered with her health and quality of life. Resentment keeps
the hurt alive and blocks the healing; emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Maxwell Maltz said, "Forgive others. Do it not only for their sake but for
your own. If you don't, you will feel within you a nauseating resentment
destroying you from within."
[Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics, p104] I had her visualize her first
husband sitting in a chair in front of her. She told him of all the hurt she
had experienced as a results of his deserting her and their children. She said
that in order for her to get on with her life she was releasing the
resentment by forgiving him and she did.
We discussed her feelings that God had forsaken her. She worked
through those feelings to an understanding of God who was actively helping
her through this situation. We talked about set-backs which she has had or
might have in the future. We talked about the death process and the grief
she experiences concerning her death.
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After several months, Bee returned to the hospital with excess fluid on
her lungs. Just a few days before returning to the hospital, she had
completed a joyful pain-free vacation with her husband. She died three
days later. I do not know if we added any time to Bee's life, but she did live
six months longer than expected and had a better quality of life. Her doctor
told me that he had never seen such a change in the attitude of a patient as
he had seen in Bee as a result of the relaxation, imagery therapy and
hypnosis. Just after her second hospitalization, Bee was ready to die, stayed
home in bed most of the time and had no hope for the future but as a result
of the therapy, she lived with hopeful expectation and lived a more
meaningful life. During this time, Bee was relatively pain-free and lived an
active life to include enrolling in a local community college.
Relaxation, imagery therapy and hypnosis tends to decrease fear and
bring about an attitude change. These techniques have been found to effect
physical changes, enhancing the person's own immune system, altering the
cause of the disease, decreasing tension and stress and helping to confront
and alter the stance of hopelessness and helplessness. These methods along
with traditional medical treatment and faith in the God who cares can help
in healing. Even for those illnesses and injuries which cannot be healed, these
methods bring about an improved quality of life. Again, I would like to
emphasize that to say one participates in his or her own health situation is
not intended to create guilt over being sick, but to give hope for healing and
help for dying. [Simonton, p137-138]
Many in our world are sick: some physically, some mentally, some
spiritually. Millions of people feel lonely and unacceptable. Others feel a lack
of satisfaction with jobs, marriages and life. Doctors say that over half the
people suffering from an illness are sick because they have an emotional or
spiritual problem that keeps their body or mind from functioning properly.
This does not mean that the sickness is just in their minds, but that the
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body is weakened and illness comes. Often when the person gets their
emotional or spiritual problems straightened out, healing takes place. It is
an accepted fact that a person's attitude does have a profound effect upon
the body for good or bad.
Chapter 30: Our Mental Attitude and Healing:
In the New Testament (St. John 5:1-16) is the story of Jesus healing
the man at the pool of Bethesda. On his way to the feast, Jesus saw this
sick man by the pool. The pool was fed by a spring which gushed forth from
time to time. This mysterious activity of the water was thought to bring
healing to the first sick person who went into the water after the movement
began. This man had been waiting over 30 years to get into the pool for
healing.
Though Jesus was on his way to a party, he had time for this man
and began to talk with him. Jesus asked, "Do you want to be healed?" That
sounded like an odd question. Surely the man wanted to be healed, or did
he? Jesus respected the man's freedom for he would not force healing upon
the man unless he was ready to be healed.
Perhaps the man was receiving more emotional gains from being sick
than he would have if he was well. Unconsciously some people choose to
endure illness and physical pain rather than face the emotional or spiritual
conflict within. Although with the conscious mind they truly pray for
healing, there is an unconscious and very powerful motive which makes
illness more desirable. In an effort to escape emotional or spiritual pain, a
person may become accident-prone, disease-prone, surgery-prone, trouble-
prone, bad judgment-prone.
As Jesus questioned this man, he focused on his inner desire rather
than on his symptoms. "Do you want to be healed?" At first the man
evaded the question by placing the blame on others. If there had only been
someone with enough concern to help, he would have made it to the pool.
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By the question, "Do you want to be healed?", Jesus brought the man back
to himself and his attitude.
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl has written, "Everybody can be helped, if
not directly, then indirectly by helping the patient change his attitude."
Jesus was asking this man to make an attitude change. For with an
attitude change, the man's picture of himself could change and with that
change, he could change himself. Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed and
walk." As he heard Jesus speak, he realized that here was someone who
cared about him so was able to rise and walk. Jesus concluded his
conversation with this man by saying, "See you are well, sin no more." This
does not mean that the man's illness resulted from sin. It does mean that
spiritual sickness is far more destructive to our life than is physical illness.
Health is not a sign of great faith nor is disease the sign of weak faith.
Whatever the cause of the man's illness when Jesus told him to rise
and walk, the man accepted Jesus' offer of healing and walked. At the
word of Jesus, he mastered enough strength to leave his illness behind and
began to live a new life of faith.
Faith means being grasped by a power greater than we are, a power
that turns us, transforms us, and heals us. It is a self-surrender to the
healing power of God. Through faith, we see ourselves as a whole and
wholeness comes.
We can surrender our split, contradicting self, our hate for our self
and our hostility toward others for healing. Through faith, we are offered
wholeness and when we respond, God's love rushes into us and we are
healed either in body, mind, or attitude. There are some diseases which we
must live with and eventually die because of, but where physical healing may
not be possible, soul healing is. Our lives can be transformed by faith that
even sickness and death are transformed into meaningful experiences.
As Jesus said to the man by the pool of Bethesda, he says to us, "Do
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you want to be healed?" When we accept his loving presence, we are healed
either in body, mind, or spirit. So it was with Job. Through his experience
with God, he began to visualize himself healed and healing came.
Job's message to the modern sufferer is that human nature in
response to crisis has not changed very much over the centuries. The second
message of Job to our day is that the painful experience of life can cause one
to have feelings of resentment, hostility, doubt and separation. These
feelings are natural reactions which can either destroy one's faith or lead one
to a fuller understanding of God's presence in his life's situation.
The third message of Job indicates that our emotional state of mind
has an effect upon our health either for good or bad. While the improper
handling of stress can lead us to illness, hopefully expectation can help us
regain our health and/or improve the quality of life. If we can work
through these normal reactions of hurt, grief, death, and loss, then maybe
like Job, God will become real to us in his own way to assure us of his
presence and to give us strength to either overcome or endure.
Chapter 31: Helps for Reducing Harmful Stress:
As we live in a world where stress is ever present, what are some of
the things a person can do to reduce the harmful effects of stress?
(1) Exercise: Recall that your body often manifests a "fight or flight"
response to stress. Regular physical exercise helps you burn off extra sugars
and fats in your blood caused by stress. I like to walk a couple of miles a
day which helps me reduce stress. If I am angry with someone I just picture
his/her face on the street and I step on it as I walk. After two miles, it is
hard to be angry with someone you have been stepping on for twenty-five
to thirty minutes. This method of releasing anger is more beneficial to the
other person and to me.
When I walk, I talk to myself by repeating positive suggestions. As I
walk the first mile, I say, “Day by day in every way, I am getting better
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and better, healthier and healthier, wealthier and wealthier, happier and
happier.” While walking the second mile, I say, “God’s love, joy, peace,
prosperity and health fills my body, mind and spirit; keeping me physically,
mentally, and spiritually healthy.” If there is something special that I am
working on, I use suggestions that relate to that such as for weight control:
“I avoid those foods that I know are fatting. I desire those foods that help
me reach my goal. My natural body processes are eliminating unneeded and
unwanted body fat. I am in the process of becoming slimmer and slimmer,
trimmer and trimmer.” I alternate the general suggestion with the special
suggestions as I walk.
For your exercise, you may be active in various sports, ride a bicycle,
swimming. jog, run or just take a walk. Of course, before beginning any
strenuous activity, you should see your doctor to determine what is best for
you.
Dr. Frank S. Caprio notes that is has been reported that men and
women 56 through 87 who were put through a program of walking,
swimming, calisthenics and stretching exercises showed a drop in blood
pressure, loss of fat, drop in nervous tension and increase in muscle strength.
[Caprio, p16] Whatever your age, find an exercise program that is right for
you.
(2) Balance work and play. Schedule times for play and recreation.
Learn to play and have a good time. All work and no play makes you a
nervous wreck. I enjoy country music and have a large collection of records
and tapes. Often when I am down and depressed, I will put on a record or
tape and just let the music renew me emotionally.
Norman Cousins, the editor of the Saturday Review used humor to
help him recover from a life-threatening and crippling disease. Cousins
came to the conclusion that if negative thinking could produce negative
reaction in his body, then positive thoughts could bring positive response in
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his body. He watched tapes of comedy shows and laughed a lot. Cousins
discovered that ten minutes of heavy laughter produced an aesthetic effect
for him that lasted up to two hours. It has been discovered that hearty
laughter increases the levels of endorphins and enkephalins in the brain
which is the body's own pain killer.
Viktor Frankl speaks of humor as one of the soul’s weapons in the fight
for self-preservation and health. "It is well known that humor, more than
anything else in human makeup, can afford an aloofness and an ability to
rise above any situation, even if only a few seconds." [Frankl, p68] The fact
that these words were written by Frankl while he was in World War II
concentration camp adds to their validity.
Let me add that play is what you do for yourself. You may do it with
others but is primarily for your benefit. When my boys were young, they
liked to play Monopoly and so did I. There were times when I would ask
them to play and at times they asked me. When I really wanted to play
Monopoly with them, it was play. On other occasions when I was tired and
just wanted to watch TV, they may ask me to play. I usually did for I felt it
was important to be with my sons, but that time it was not play for me.
(3) Learn to accept what your cannot change, but change what you
can. To accept does not mean to like. It means to do the best you can
under the circumstance. A person who loses a hand may never like the fact
that he has only one hand. The person who has accepted the situation
works through the question, "Now that I have lost my hand, how can I best
live life with one hand?"
What we can change to make life better, we should change. Though
we may not be able to change our circumstances, we have the abilities to
change our attitude. How many people have failed to experience fulfillment
in life not for a lack of knowledge or ability or ambition, not even from a
lack of opportunity, but because of negative thinking. Negative thinking,
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discouragement and despondence are among the greatest sources of human

pain, suffering and defeat in life.
Old habits of negative thinking, old feelings of inferiority, inadequacy,
worry, fear - - - whatever holds us captive to discouragement - - - must
be released in order for a new affirmation of faith and hope to begin. If we
have entertained negative feelings that have resulted in undeveloped talent,
disappointments and failures; we can let go of those feelings and begin life
anew. Through faith, we experience a way to deal with the joys and
sorrows of life. Through faith, we begin to have a new picture in our mind
of what we can be. As we allow ourselves to experience God's presence, we
can have an image in our mind which will allow us to reach our fullest
potential.
Dark moods can close out the light of God's presence from our life.
Though God is always with us, the dark moods can shut us off from
experiencing God's presence as the clouds cut off the sun. We must
remember that the sun's light penetrates the clouds so that life goes on.
Even when there appears to be no sun, its rays are all about us. God's
presence continues with us even when we feel alone.
To some, rain is a signal for depression. For others, it is a sign of new
life and new growth. It is mainly a matter of attitude. It is like the poem,
"Two men looked out of prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw the
stars." Both were in prison, both looked out of the same window, what each
saw was determined by his attitude. What we see in life is largely
determined by our attitude.
When David of the Old Testament was depressed, what did he do?
How did this discouraged and endangered man learn the blessings of self-
encouragement? He did not find encouragement by denying or ignoring the
difficult situation in which he found himself. There were dangers, problems
and sorrows confronting him that were real. He could not truthfully deny
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their existence.
How did David encourage himself? Here is David's secret. "David
encouraged himself in the Lord, his God." (1 Samuel 30:10-6) He brought
his difficulties, disappointments, dependencies, his sorrow, his failure to God.
He placed his hand in the hand of God, who was his abiding source of
courage and hope.
You may say, "Of course, David could encourage himself. He was a
great man, a great poet, a great soldier, a great king. He knew nothing of
problems like mine and disappointment like mine or discouragement like
mine." Take another look at David; when he said those words of self
encouragement, he was not in a good situation. He was face to face with a
great failure because he had not followed orders. Because he went to fight
the enemy in another area, the city Ziklag that he was to defend had been
raided, destroyed and the people captured. He had failed in his mission and
failure was hard for him to bear just as it is difficult for you and me. Yet,
in the midst of failure, he encouraged himself in the Lord, his God.
David was facing hatred, loneliness and lack of appreciation, which
was a result of his failure. His mission had been to defend the city and its
people, but he had led his soldiers to do battle in another area. He was sent
back to the city, but when he returned, the city was destroyed and its
people taken hostage. His soldiers were angry with him and threatened his
life. A few days before, they were cheering him. A few days before, they
were praising and complimenting him for his leadership. Today that was
changed for no one seems to care for him or believe in him. The people who
had once honored him were now thinking of killing him. In the midst of all
these problems, David encouraged himself in the Lord, his God. Through his
faith, David was able to move through this difficult situation to new hope,
for he knew that in life or in death, God was with him.
Many feel that they could be happy if they lived somewhere else, if
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they had another job, if they had other friends, if they were wealthy, if they
were healthier. When these options are not available, what do we do? We
have to learn to live our best where we are. We grow by a change in
attitude, by searching out new frontiers and new opportunities. If we can
change a bad situation, we should do our best to change it, but when
outward change is not possible, we can still have a choice of attitude.
Every improvement begins with an inward shift in attitude, a fresh
approach and a new receptiveness to positive and constructive ideas. Sooner
or later we must learn that places, persons or conditions do not determine
our happiness; but it is our own inner state of mind and understanding.
The first necessary changes are within ourselves. Abraham Lincoln once said
that folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
I once read a slogan, "Bloom where you are planted." When I hear
those words, I am reminded of an eighty-two year old woman I met at the
Methodist Hospital in New Orleans. "Bloom where you are planted". She
told me how she reluctantly gave up her home of many years to move into a
home for the elderly. At first she was unhappy; but she accepted what she
could not change and decided to bloom where she was planted. She began
to take piano lessons, helped the less active residents at the home, and as
result, began to take on a new attitude about her life. As she changed her
attitude and encouraged herself, she was able to maintain a cheerful,
optimistic attitude. She maintained an active sense of humor and an
attitude of gratitude even on her bad days, which helped her through them
to better days.
By accepting what we cannot change, or changing what we can, or
changing our attitude toward our situation and learning to encourage
ourselves; we can bloom where we are and new hope and meaning will come
into our life. As we encourage our self, discouragement and despondency
will begin to fade and a new attitude of hope will emerge.
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(4) Talk about your worries: It helps to share worries with someone
you trust such as a friend, family member, clergy person, teacher or some
other trusted person. Don't keep your stress and worry locked up inside of
you. You can find some relief by getting it off your chest. You don't want
to be a complainer, but you do need someone to talk to concerning your
worries.
In a newspaper article, That Blue Feeling Can Bring On A Flu Attack,
Rita Rubin quotes James W. Pennebaker concerning talking over your
worries. Pennebaker, a psychologist at Southern Methodist University states,
"The general idea is that when a person inhibits his behavior or doesn't talk
about something that's important to him, that act of inhibiting is physically
stressful. They're more prone to reporting every kind of disease imaginable
- colds, flu, backaches, kidney problems, cancer."
In Second Samuel, the sixth chapter, we read about the rejoicing of
David as he danced around the Ark of God and with the people of Israel.
The scripture says, "David wearing a linen ephord, danced without restraint
before the Lord." David was criticized for his dance by his wife and he
responded, "Before the Lord, I will dance for joy, yes and I will earn yet
more disgrace and lower myself still more in your eyes." David then went
out to eat and dance with the people. He danced the dance of fellowship.
I see this dance as symbolizing the openness of David which is essential
to meaningful fellowship. As you read the life of David and his Psalms, you
see that David was open in his confession of sin, he was open about his
doubts and he was open about his fears, he was open about his joys, he was
open about his faith, he was open to man and he was open to God.
I am not suggesting that we should go around telling everybody our
mistakes, doubts and fears. We do need some loving, accepting individuals
or group where we can be open and talk about the things that trouble us.
By talking with a caring person and with proper counseling, we can release
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those problems which stand in the way of our emotional and spiritual
growth.
Rather than expose what we feel to be inadequate or unacceptable, we
build walls. These walls are our self-defense and we live behind them
because we are afraid that we will be rejected if we are really known. The
risk we take by being open is that David's wife may be present in some
judgmental person, but there is also the possibility that we will find loving
acceptance. Let us move out from behind our walls to talk over our
problem, at least with God and a few trusted friends, clergy, or professional
counselor so that we release some of the effect our problems have upon us.
This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Galatians, "Share each
other's troubles and problems and so obey our Lord's command," and James
in his letter "Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so
that you may be healed." In sharing with a concerned-trusted person, we
can talk about our doubts, fears, faith and as a result, grow.
Here is a man who from childhood has been told that he is no good so
acts out these prophesies without knowing why. How is he to get off this
failure cycle if he has no one to share with? There is the woman who in her
youth was raped and who felt guilty about it all these years because the first
words she heard from her mother were, "Oh, what shame you have brought
upon our family." How is she going to be released from this false guilt
without someone to share with?
In the fairy tale, Rapunzel, a young girl is imprisoned in a tower by an
old witch. The young girl is very beautiful, but the old witch is continually
telling her that she is ugly. We could say that the witch is that part in each
of us which says that we are no good, that we are unworthy, that we are
ugly. Rapunzel's liberation occurred one day when she was gazing from the
window and saw a handsome young man. When she is able to risk him
seeing her face, she sees his love for her. She throws her long beautiful
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golden hair out the window, so that her prince charming can climb the
tower and rescue her.
Rapunzel's imprisonment was really not that of the tower, but her
fear off her own ugliness, which the witch had described so often and so
effectively. When Rapunzel sees in the mirroring eyes of her lover that she is
beautiful, she is freed from the witch and the tower of own imagined
ugliness.
This is true not only in the case of Rapunzel, but of many others. We
desperately need to see in the mirror of another's eyes our own acceptance
and goodness. Until we can be open and honest at least with God and a few
significant others, we remain locked behind walls of our own making. We
need to have others to share our feelings and concerns with, because we
tend to act out the problems that remain in us when we cannot talk them
out.
We tend to act out our hostilities by destructively criticizing or by
indifference to others for fear of our hostility. We act our need to be loved
by emotional over-dependence upon others or by pushing others away for
fear that they will not love us. We act out our sense of inferiority by being
shy or by trying to humiliate others. We act out our sense of guilt by
punishing ourselves in various ways or by projecting our guilt to others in
condemning ways.
Faith, loving, accepting, sharing helps us to break down walls and
helps us live more healthy lives. As you talk about your concerns with a
trusted person, you are better able to let go their destructive qualities.
(5) Avoid over using self-medication. When I suggest that you avoid
over using self-medication, I am not referring to an occasional aspirin or the
use of Preparation H when needed. I am talking about the need for a pill to
go to sleep each night and a pill to get going in the morning. I am talking
about the need for four or five drinks to really enjoy a party. I am talking
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about alcohol, tranquilizers and drug abuse. Although there are many
chemicals such as alcohol, tranquilizers or drugs that can mask your
symptoms, they do not help you adjust to stress.
(6) Get enough sleep and rest: Long ago a book of prayers was
written that still speak of faith, hope and courage. It shows people
expressing their doubts and their faith, their anger and their love, their joy
and their sorrow. We call it “The Book of Psalms.” Its words thrill and
inspire those who read it. It is one of the most read books in the Bible. No
Scripture is better known than the Psalms and none of the Psalms is better
known nor more helpful than the 23rd Psalm "The Lord is My Shepherd".
No one has ever turned to it in sincere faith without finding support.
Its thoughts are for high noon when the sun is shining brightly and for
midnight when it is very dark. It is sung at weddings, it is spoken at
anniversaries, it is prayed at funerals. It is a priceless possession for the sick,
the prisoner, the bewildered, the despondent, the dying. When I was a
chaplain in Viet Nam and the situation was such that there could be no
worship service, I would visit small groups and individual soldiers. During
rd
those visits, I would often read the 23 Psalm as a short worship with those
soldiers.
The spiritual content of the 23rd Psalm is superb. Its literary charm
is universally recognized. The better one knows it, the more frequently he or
she will use it. There are only 118 words in this Psalm, but they have
probably brought more comfort to mankind than all the philosophy that has
been written.
Early in that Psalm, David writes about the need to relax and rest.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, he maketh me to lie down in
green pastures."
When a father told his family that he planned to be away for a few
days because he was going to attend a retreat, his young son was puzzled
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and asked, "Why are you going to retreat, Dad? Who is after you?" The
father had not thought of it that way, but he knew the answer. The
tensions, pressures and problems of living seemed to follow him closely so it
would be a relief to get away from them for a few days.
The need for rest originates with our Creator. All of life cannot be
activity, for we must have time to rest. According to the Biblical account of
creation, God rested on the seventh day and thus blessed our need for rest.
Today people in the health care field are saying that rest and relaxation can
be helpful in strengthening us physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Often a patient in the hospital will say to me how difficult it is for
them to stay in bed for they have been so active. Perhaps one of the
reasons they got sick was because they have been going too fast and too long
without rest. Lack of rest tends toward mental and physical breakdown. It
interferes with the proper production of digestive juices which can cause
stomach and digestive tract diseases. It can affect proper breathing which
can cause respiratory and heart problems. For physical and emotional
health, we need rest.
One needs to relax and let his mind take him on a vacation to the
mountains, or sunbathing on the beach, or fishing in the lake or resting at
some other peaceful location. As you rest, allow your hope to develop and
grow. Hope is as beneficial as restlessness is harmful. Louis Orton states
that the action of the heart is improved by hope. Respiration becomes fuller
and the various organs of secretion and excretion are favorably affected.
Feelings of guilt can disturb our rest. Someone has said, "Our
infidelities, which we so eagerly anticipate and which pass from expectation
through enjoyment into memory, haunt us." Remember the scene in
Macbeth where Lady Macbeth tries to clean her hands after murder. She
cries, "Out damned spot, I say". More scrubbing and then, "Here's the smell
of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
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Then the physician, who had been watching from a corner of the room said,
"Foul whisperings are abroad, unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles,
infected minds to their pillows will discharge their secrets. More need she
the Devine than the physician. God, God, forgive us all."
Most have not committed a crime compared with Lady Macbeth's, but
many are failing to experience peaceful rest because they feel guilty about
real or imaginary sins. We, like Lady Macbeth, need to experience
forgiveness in order to rest.
Jealousy can destroy our rest. David knew that jealousy interferes
with rest as he saw the inability of King Saul to rest because of jealousy.
King Saul was happy when he entered the city to the cheers of the people
singing of his victorious battle, "Saul has killed his thousands". But, at the
singing of the second verse, "David has killed his ten thousand", jealousy
began to grow in the heart of Saul and the rest of his life he was a violent
and restless man. If you are jealous of your wife, your husband, your
brother, your sister, your work associates, you destroy your chance for rest.
Greed, anger, hatred, revenge, discontent does much to disturb our
rest. It was especially the release from the inner tensions of guilt, anxiety,
jealousy, hatred and other such attitudes that moved David to write this of
his Shepherd Lord. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." As we
experience rest, we are better able to effectively manage stress so that it is
not harmful to us.
(7) Prayer and meditation. Prayer is an expression of the divine-
human love event. It is communication with God. There are many forms
that this communication may take. Sometimes, it is a formal written prayer
and sometimes it is verbalizing our thoughts and feelings to God. At other
times, it is a mental attitude of thinking only thoughts to God. The most
meaningful prayers are those that come from the heart and soul while
communicating in an intimate manner with God. Prayer and meditation
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allow us to nurture our spiritual life.

Christian and Hopeful, in John Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress, were
imprisoned by the Giant Despair in Doubting Castle. They finally fell on
their knees and prayed. When they rose, Christian said in astonishment,
"Fool that I am thus to lie in their dark inn when I might walk at large. I
have a key here in my pouch... that I feel sure will turn the lock of all the
doors in Doubting Castle". Christian and Hopeful used their key and escaped
Doubting Castle.
Note that it was after he prayed that Christian mustered his resources
to meet his situation. Prayer is a key each of us can carry with us. With
prayer, no one need be imprisoned long in Doubting Castle or remain in
captivity to the Giant Despair.
I am reminded of the old hymn: “Lord, what a change within us one
short hour spent in thy presence will prevail to make, what heavy burdens
from our bosoms take, what parched grounds refreshed as with a shower!
We kneel and all around us seems to tower, we rise and all the distant and
near, stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear. We kneel, how weak,
we rise, how full of power! Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this
wrong or others, that we are not always strong. That we are ever overborne
with care, that we should ever weak or heartless be, anxious or troubled
when with us is prayer, and joy, and strength and courage are with thee.”
(8) Learn to relax and use your mind to help you deal with stress.
The use of relaxation, imagery and self-hypnosis is available to each of us
and it is very easy to learn. (Refer to Chapter 5: Inductions, “Favorite Place
and Relaxation Induction.” or “20 Down to 1: Indirect Induction”) The
hypnotic state is a condition of relaxation where attention is concentrated
and the individual is more susceptible to suggestion. It is not a bizarre
experience. You are conscious of what is happening and your are in control.
If the telephone rings, you will hear it and can choose to answer it or ignore
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it. If you hear a cry for help, you can respond.

When you are hypnotized, you are in a high state of susceptibility to
suggestion. Self-hypnosis can be used to improve your attitude so that you
can better deal with the stress that you experience. It can help you during
illnesses or injury to reduce apprehension, to reduce and eliminate pain and
to increase your hopeful expectation. When used to reduce pain or improve
healing, self-hypnosis should be used with proper medical care.
SECTION FOUR: ENHANCING HYPNOTHERAPY
Chapter 32: No Parking: Letting Go of the Past
(A seminar by Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D.)
James Ullman in his book River of the Sun, writes, "To forget what is
behind, you must look steadily ahead." St. Paul wrote something similar to
that statement many years before. Regardless of your religious faith I think
you can find some help in his words, "Forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark of the high calling of God." (Phil 3:13-14)
You can see them in a number of places: in front of theaters, bus
stops, fire hydrants, hotels, hospitals, loading zones, curves and shoulders of
highways... You cannot travel far without seeing the familiar sign meaning,
"No Parking". One of the most persistent warnings in traffic or in life is the
danger of parking in the wrong place, yet people go on parking in places
where they should not. In traffic, the results may mean a ticket or an
accident. In life, we pay the penalty in arrested development, in stunted
personality, in narrowed vision and in limited lives.
When St. Paul wrote, "Forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forth to those things which are before", he was saying that life is
for growth, for development, for progress. If you park, life becomes
stagnant, bitter, restricted. When you are tempted to park, look at the "No
Parking" sign and move on.
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As we consider our topic, "No Parking: Letting Go of the Past", let us

understand that we do not want to get rid of our memory of the past.
Many wonderful experiences are part of your memory. Many learning
experiences are part of your memory. Using our memory correctly helps us
meet the needs of today. The past we want to release are those experiences
which prevent us from fully living today. Let us look at some of the "No
Parking" signs along life's highway and move beyond them to a better life.
In this chapter, we will look at the “No Parking” zones in life, discuss
them and offer a way to release them. One of the techniques you can use is
imagery. For an illustration of the power of Imagery, I would like to share
with you and incident from the life of Isaiah. Isaiah, the Old Testament
Prophet, had imagery in mind when he told the children of Israel in exile to
visualize the walls of Jerusalem standing tall and strong. Isaiah suggested to
his people to change their vision and their imagery. These words of Isaiah
were spoken more than forty years after Jerusalem was in ruin, the walls
destroyed and the Jewish people had been exiled. Each year since their
deportation, the hopes of the Jewish people returning to Jerusalem became
dimmer and dimmer.
Eventually, hope began to disappear and self pity took its place. In
spite of their hopeless situation, Isaiah gave them an amazing message of
comfort and hope. In the midst of their despair, Isaiah invited them to
celebrate, to have a vision of their return to Jerusalem.
He said for them to see the walls before their eyes and suggested that
God is saying to them, "Thy walls are continually before me" (Isaiah 49:16
KJV). Isaiah seems to be saying, "Keep this before your mind's eye and the
exile will end, you will return to Jerusalem and the walls will be rebuilt. See
it as already happened and it shall indeed happen." History tells us that the
Hebrews did return from exile to Jerusalem and the walls were rebuilt.
Isaiah's message is simple. Whatever you want to happen in your life,
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be it health, overcoming an undesirable habit, achieving the desired end -

visualize it happening and then wait and work for its fulfillment. As you use
your imagination, be positive, be motivated, use the present tense as if what
you are visualizing has already happened. Repeat the visualization often and
expect it to happen and your subconscious mind begins to work to bring the
imagery into reality.
I should point out that imagery and day dreaming are different from
one another. Imagery motivates one to accomplish that which is visualized.
The day dreamer is satisfied with the dream and is not motivated to
accomplish the goal. Imagery is not wishful thinking, but hopeful
expectations of what is desired with the motivation to believe it to be reality.
(For more information on the use of imagery, refer to Chapter 6: Imagery and
Healing Stories)
(1) There is a "No Parking" sign by our failure. Who among us has
never failed? I have failed, you have failed. Everyday we can see someone
parked by their failure in school, in marriage, in job, in moral righteousness,
and/or in their spiritual life. Often we see people parked by their guilt.
Dr. Frank S. Capiro states, "Guilt plays a tremendous role in psychosomatic
ailments. Exaggerated feelings of guilt, or even what you think...can make
you physically ill". [Caprio Better Health Through Self-Hypnosis, p63]
Guilt is a great destroyer of our health and well being. Nothing is
more meaningful for the human race than our free will, but perhaps nothing
is a greater cause of suffering. When one misuses his freedom, he feels
guilty. Guilt causes suffering because it separates us from God, others and
ourselves. It limits our creativity, diminishes our self-worth, creates self-
hatred and casts a shadow over our lives.
There is a childhood game of trying to escape one's shadow. As long
as one stays in the sun, he cannot lose his shadow. In regards to guilt, some
adults feel they have learned to beat the game by going into the darkness.
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The trouble with that decision is that one living in the darkness cannot enjoy
the warmth and beauty of the sunlight.
Though guilt is a destroyer of our well being, it has positive as well as
negative qualities. The positive aspect of guilt is that it is to spiritual health
what pain is to physical health. It is a warning that something is wrong and
that a change of some kind is necessary for healing. Like physical pain, the
intensity of guilt is not necessarily an indication of how serious the wrong
may be. The same is true of guilt. Many of us carry, throughout our life, an
unnecessary weight of guilt for relatively small mistakes or even supposed
mistakes. On the other hand, the absence of the discomforting feeling of
guilt may not be a necessary sign of spiritual health. This person may be
living in the darkness where no shadow is cast.
So often unresolved guilt (whether real or imaginary) creates a need to
make amends, to make restitution, to suffer enough to pay back the wrong,
to set things right by damage to self and thus balance the account. This
tendency has led Cecil Osbourne to write, "Guilt, whether real or imaginary
can be handled in only two ways, it must be forgiven or punished. It is not
God who punishes us, but if we do not feel forgiven, we often find a way to
punish ourselves. We need to seek God's forgiveness and forgive our self.
When the individual has confessed and let go of his/her guilt, we can
say to them out of the context of their faith, "You don't have to feel guilty
and separated from God, for you are forgiven. You can leave the heavy
weight of your guilt behind. God has taken it from your back so now you
are free to experience a fuller, happier life."
"S.T. or You Don't Have To Stay the Way You Are": "You can't teach
an old dog new tricks." The determinist in religion, philosophy and
psychology contend that this statement is true, not only of dogs, but also of
people. We can say, "The devil made me do it; God made me do it; my
determinism made me do it; I am not responsible." On the other hand, if
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we believe that people can change because of his or her free will then there
is hope.
Two young men stole some sheep. They were caught and brought to
trial. The punishment for the crime was the branding of the initials "S.T."
(sheep thief) on their foreheads. One boy left the town and was never heard
from, but the other remained. As the years passed he became a man of
faith and gave his life to people in love and service.
Many years later, a visitor came to the town and asked an old man,
"What does "S.T." stand for on the head of that man down the street?" The
old man knew the story, but answered, "It happened a long time ago, I have
forgotten the details, but for those of us who know him now, it is the
abbreviation for the word "Saint".
Yes, change can take place. We do not have to stay the way we are.
"I wish there was some wonderful place called the land of beginning again,
where all our mistakes and all of our heartaches and all of our selfish grief
could be draped like a shabby coat at the door and never put on again."
Faith says that there is an opportunity to begin again, for through faith, you
can change as you accept a new vision of what life can be for you.
Our errors, mistakes, failures, humiliations and sins can be used as a
stepping stone in the growing process or they can be stone walls blocking
our progress. When we continually dwell upon our failures and feel guilty
about them, we are parked. In so doing, we continue to relive the past and
the past continues to have power over us. Parking doesn't help and often
sets us up for continued failure. Let your failure go and move past the "No
Parking" sign to new life in the present and future.
(2) If we look we will find a "No Parking" sign by our fears.
Montarigue once said, "It is fear that I stand in most fear of". President
Franklin D. Roosevelt said to a fear paralyzed nation at the beginning of
World War II, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". The fact of fear is
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one of the facts of life. We have fears of the past, of the present, of the
future, of danger, of failure, of ridicule, of being alone, of being disliked, of
death and of numerous other things.
Some fears are friends, while other fears are foes. Some are useful,
some are abnormal. Some fears are an aid of fulfillment while others cause
us to park in a "No Parking" zone. Normal fear directs us to look both ways
before crossing a street. Abnormal fear is to be so afraid as to never cross
the street or to deny your fears and cross without looking either way. Let's
see the "No Parking" sign beside our fears and move on to a more abundant
life.
(3) If we look we will find a "No Parking" sign by our anger and
resentment. The feeling of anger is an emotion which is familiar to each of
us. It is a feeling that each of us experience from time to time and is often
justified. I am not saying that you ought not to get angry, or be resentful
because they are human emotions and therefore O.K. It becomes a problem
by how we react to it and whether we control it or it controls us. It
becomes a problem when we park by our anger over past injustices. Paul
said in his letter to the Ephesians (4:24), "Be angry and yet do not sin; do
not let the sun go down on your anger."
Something happened to you and you felt angry about it. Perhaps you
have held on to it for years. Life can be moving along on an even keel when
all of a sudden it does a flip flop and you were set adrift on turbulent
waters. It may have been an illness, a financial setback, a broken marriage,
a broken friendship. To continue to react to those events of the past with
anger leads to a mind that becomes fatigued by the constant physical,
emotional and spiritual drain of the inner conflict. The human heart and
mind and body cannot carry the heavy weight of prolonged or excessive
resentment and anger without making the person ill.
Think of the external changes which take place when you get angry: a
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reddening of the skin of the face, a widening or squinting of the jaw,

clinching of the fist and a tremor of the voice. Now a good actor can
conceal some, if not all of these external manifestations, but one cannot stop
the effect of the internal changes.
Internally, when a person becomes angry, the muscles of the stomach
squeezes down and can cause the digestive tract to become so spastic that
one may experience mild to severe abdominal pains. The heart rate increases
markedly during anger, blood thickens, blood pressure rises rapidly, and
arteries and heart squeeze down. The worst that can happen is a heart
attack or stroke.
“Reservation for a Trip To the Moon": A group in New York City once
advertised that they were taking reservations for a trip to the moon.
Prospective travelers were warned that the moon was a cold and arid place
where movement would be difficult and conversation without radio
transmission would be impossible. In spite of these drawbacks, over 18,000
people requested reservations.
Those making reservations were asked to explain why they wanted to
go to the moon. There were a number of reasons given, but two reasons
emerged as leaders. Many stated that they wanted to go because of the
adventure involved, but most wanted to escape the earth and their own
problems. The trouble is that those who desired to get away from their
problems would take their biggest problem with them. They would probably
be like the man who went to the other side of the world to get away from
his problems, only to find that he had brought his biggest problem with him
- himself.
You don't need to run away from your problem, but use your mind to
help you overcome or endure your problem in a constructive way. You can
do this by a change in your attitude from despair and defeat to hope and
meaning.
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“You Can Let Go of the Baggage”: You are carrying a lot of baggage
which you can get rid of. A woman with a heavy suitcase boarded a bus.
As the bus was full, she had to stand. As she stood by the driver, she
continued to hold her baggage. The driver said to her, "You can put your
baggage down lady, the bus will carry it for you." You can let it go.
Suppose you tried to keep your garbage in your home, hiding the
scraps and litter away in various parts of the house - day after day and
week after week. Think of the smell and disease that would poison the
entire household. This simple principle holds true in your emotional life also.
If you let the garbage of life keep piling up inside of you, it will eventually
work you harm. Let the garbage go. Feel good about yourself. As you do,
your self confidence increases and you grow emotionally and spiritually. You
can change your mind and change your life. St. Paul wrote in Colossians
2:8-10, "But now you also put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice,
slander, and abusive speech from your mouth...since you laid aside the old
self...and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge
according to the image of the one who created him."
See the "No Parking" sign and let go of your anger of the past in order
to fully live life today.
(4) If we look, we will find a "No Parking" sign by our past religious
experiences. We all know people who are cases of arrested spiritual
development. They have never grown up spiritually because they have
parked by some religious experience of the past. They have never developed
a mature religious faith. The result is that religion to them is sterile,
meaningless and plays no major part in their lives.
You may have parked by some peak religious experience of the past,
where you really felt the power of God in your life, that is an attractive
place to park but it has its dangers. It is like the little boy who fell out of
bed one night. When his father came to see what had happened, the little
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boy said, "I guess I went to sleep near the place where I got in." To park by
a peak religious experience of the past is to live spiritually too close to where
you came in.
Other people are parked by some negative experience of the past. I
remember a man who for many year would have nothing to do with the
church, or priest or ministers, because a priest had refused to come to his
home several years ago when his mother was dying. We developed a good
relationship while he was patient at Methodist Hospital and he began to see
that he had parked and missed much that faith can give him.
We need to develop that spiritual part of our life in order to
experience life more abundantly. Life is more than just being alive mentally
and physically. To be the whole person that we were meant to be by our
Creator, we have to be alive spiritually as well as physically and emotionally.
(Refer to the story of the three daughters who told their father how
much they loved him in chapter 1) Man is created in the image of God and
is sacred, for his body is the temple of God. Jesus said, "The kingdom of
God is within you." This is the same God who created each of us and
designed the universe. Therefore, every tree, every blade of grass, every
atom, every molecule, every nugget of truth is sacred.
God's command to Moses on Mt. Sanai, "Put off your shoes from, for
the place on which you stand is holy" did not mean that only that particular
piece of ground was holy. God was saying that wherever Moses, or you, or I
may be, there is God. God desires that we live lives that are decent and
moral, but also that our lives shall be meaningful and creative in whatever
situation we find ourselves. Through a meaningful faith, we can begin to
move beyond our past religious experience to more abundant life.
"Stewed Prunes": I use this story with a person who had grown up
with an opinion of God as a very judgmental being. As I listened to your
description of your upbringing and early religious training, I am reminded of
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the mother who served stewed prunes for dessert one night to her family.
When her son balked at eating his prunes, she said, "God does not like that.
God doesn't like little boys who don't eat their prunes. God will be very
angry."
In spite of his mother's warning, the boy refused to eat the prunes so
she sent him to bed saying, "You have been a very bad boy and God is very
angry with you." A short time after he went to bed, a terrible
thunderstorm broke loose - lightning flashed, thunder clapped, and the
wind whipped the rain against the windows. The mother thought that the
boy would be terribly frightened, so she went up to comfort him. When she
entered the room, he was standing at the window with his face pressed
against the glass saying, "My, my, such a fuss to make over a few prunes."
You have often heard that God was angry with you and so it has been
difficult for you to feel comfortable with yourself and life. Keith Miller, in
his book A Second Touch, tells how he was caught in the rules and
regulations of the religious life. He writes that he felt that God was
recruiting a sort of "spiritual trumpet corps" and that all the members were
supposed to act alike and respond in the same way or God would be angry
with them. [Keith Miller, Second Touch p52]
Through an understanding of God's love, he came to see that God did
not want a trumpet corps but an orchestra. We are not all supposed to
sound alike because each of us is a different shaped instrument. You don't
have to be like everybody else, but just play your own part in the orchestra.
See the "No Parking" sign by your past religious experience and move on to a
new faith.
(5) There is a "No Parking" sign by our past. The past plays a
tremendous part in what we do, feel, think and how we act. You cannot
change the past for it has been lived, but you can change your attitude
toward the past so that it can no longer control your present. The past will
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remain an influence, but you are in control. Some people glory in the past
as if it were some golden age which will never return. With such an
attitude, we linger in the fantasies of yesterday and refuse to move up to
the realities of today. Others have such an unhappy past that they are
continually reaching to life in the here and now on the basis of past hurts.
"I am now what I am because of the past" is the most commonly used
reasons by which we deny ourselves and others the luxury of growth and
change. So your past has left scars. Perhaps you were physically,
emotionally or sexually abused as a child and you have parked by the abuse.
To remain parked is to allow the past to control your actions and attitudes
today. Is that the way you want it for the rest of your life or do you want
to move on past the "No Parking" sign to new freedom and joy.
By parking by our past, we waste the strength we need for today
with worry about yesterday. In his autobiography, Milton Berle, once king
of night time TV, shares with the public a portion of his life for the first
time. Berle wrote that over 40 years before he wrote the book that he
fathered a child out of wedlock, but never talked about it before. Berle
states, "That was one of the biggest hurts in my life, I got sick over that for
years. I had ulcers, sick enough to die, maybe by holding it all in."
What can we do to move beyond the "No Parking" signs to fuller,
richer, more enjoyable life. One way we can let go of the past is to be able
to talk about it with some hypnotherapist, clergy person, counselor, or a
trusted friend. Everybody needs someone to talk with, someone with whom
he or she can share the worries and anxieties which bothers him/her.
Sometimes it may be difficult to talk with someone about your
problem, so we build walls that block us from change. John Powell wrote an
interesting book titled Why Am I Afraid To tell You Who I Am.. When he
told the friend about the book and mentioned the title, the friend asked,
"Do you want my answer," Powell responded, "Yes, of course". The friend
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said, "I am afraid to tell you who I am, because if I tell you who I am, you
may not like me." [John Powell, Why Am I Afraid To Tell You Who I Am,
p12]
To the extent that we experience hurt, anxiety, guilt and inferiority
feelings; we are tempted to build walls. These walls are our self-defense and
we live behind them because we are afraid we will be rejected if we are
really known.
Psychologist O. Hobart Mower states that emotional problems arise,
not so much from the unconscious as from the unuttered. So much of the
hurts of the past can be released through talking with someone else and
with God. As we share our hurts with God, his love allows us to release
them. By sharing with God, we can receive forgiveness when we need
forgiveness and can know that God is with us. Use prayer and meditation
to help you release the past.
Relax and use your mind to help you release the past. William James
once wrote, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings
can alter their lives by altering the attitude of their mind."
“I Shall Chose the Colors”: A beautiful woman lay in the hospital with
a serious painful injury. A friend came by to visit her. As the friend came
to the bedside of the young woman, she had a sorrowful expression on her
face. She placed her hand on the young woman's hand and said, "Honey,
I'm so sorry for you are in so much pain. I don't know why you have to go
through this, for suffering colors life so much." The young woman smiled at
her concerned visitor and said, "Yes, I know, suffering does color one's life,
but I shall choose the color."
What that young woman tells each of us is that we can choose the
color. We can choose the bleak color or we can choose the brighter colors.
We can not always choose what happens to us, but we can choose the
attitude we take toward what happens to us.
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By the use of our mind, we can use visualization and imagine what
you want to happen as if it has already happened and your subconscious
mind begins to work to bring it to reality. One of the great ministers of the
century, Dr. Henry Emerson Fosdick once wrote, "Picture yourself as
defeated and that alone will make victory impossible. Picture yourself
vividly as winning and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success.
Great living starts with a picture held in your imagination of what you
would like to do or be..."
“Throw Your Problems on the Fire”: You have been on a hike and you
come to an open field. In the middle of that field is a place to make a safe
fire and it has a fire wall around the area. You take the pack off your back
and lay it on the ground...You are ready to get rid of all those heavy
burdens and feelings that have been causing all those problems you have
been experiencing so you build a fire. You have been carrying those
problems around so long, you are ready to get rid of them now...In just a
moment I'm going to ask you to open that pack and pull out the anger, the
bitterness, the grief, the guilt, the feelings of rejection and all the other
items that have been weighing you down...Open the pack pull out the
problems that have been bothering you and throw them on the fire, one at
a time. You are pleased to notice that with each object you toss on that
fire, your feelings of calmness increase...You feel as if a load has been lifted
from you and you continue to feel more at ease...It gives you a strong feeling
of relief...You are feeling yourself releasing all those negative feelings out of
your system and noticing your feelings of comfort and peace increasing with
each object you throw into the fire...
By the time you have thrown away all of those objects, you are
pleasantly surprised to notice how free and how peaceful you feel within
yourself... When you have thrown all of those objects into the fire and have
seen them all burn up and go up in smoke, your subconscious mind causes
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one of the fingers on your right hand to lift up. Good and now you can let it
go down...
You can feel yourself lying back on the comfortable grass, watching all
those problems going up in smoke...Getting rid of everything that has been
causing the difficulties in your life...And as the smoke floats into the sky, you
can feel the problems dissolving...You feel a sense of release and relief...You
are getting rid of those problems...Watch the gentle breeze carry them
farther and farther away...You can breathe deeply and exhale slowly a few
times and really enjoy the freedom, and relief and peacefulness, of being
free from those problems...The relief, the calmness, the peacefulness are
flowing all through you...Those feelings of comfort, of serenity and of well-
being remain with you even after you come out of the hypnotic state...
You can breathe deeply and exhale slowly a few times and really enjoy
the freedom, relief and peacefulness, of being free from those problems...The
relief, the calmness, the peacefulness are flowing all through you...Those
feelings of comfort, serenity and well-being remain with you as you continue
to listen to another story.
SAYING GOODBYE: (Adopted from Carol and Stephen Lankton, Tales
of Enchantment p31-32): As you continue to keep your eyes closed, I share
this story with you:
As a man walked into the house, his mother was sitting in her favorite
chair in the living room of their farmhouse where she had lived for her
entire life up to this time. As she just sat there motionless in her chair, she
greeted her son warmly. She said that she was just looking out of the
window at her favorite view which she would soon have to leave. She looked
out over the field where she had witnessed the changing of seasons for well
over fifty years. As they watched the wind blow across the grain field for a
few minutes, her son suggested that they take a final look around the farm.
They walked outside. As they passed the well and the tractor, she said,
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"It was very difficult on the farm before we bought the tractor.” Walking by
the silo and the barn, they came to a bridge that crossed a small creek.
After a short time, they came to the south 40 acres and she told him
about the stone fence that was built by laboriously moving all those rocks. A
great deal of planning and work went into building that fence. As they
started back to the house, her son asked her to say "goodbye" to the trees,
the fence, to the house, to the south 40, to the bridge, to the barn, to the
silo, and to the tractor.
Back at the house, he asked her to say "Goodbye" to the chair and to
the view of the grain in the field to the north 40. He said, "say goodbye to
all those memories to all the memories that this house holds for you and say
goodbye to the chair.”
When it was time to leave, they got into the car and he watched her
through the rearview mirror and wondered if her eyes would begin to tear.
He could tell there was a tension in the upper part of her jaw under her
eyes. She tried to hold it, but finally tears were flowing.
Two years later they drove by the house and the farm where she
spent so much of her life. Looking at the house, she said with dispassionate
interest, "Oh look, they have pruned their shrubs back to practically
nothing." He thought about what she said. She hadn't said, "My shrubs"
because they weren't her shrubs anymore. She said their shrubs. She had
said her goodbyes. And so can you.
(1) "The Turning Point": As we come to the end of this chapter, I
share one more story with you. Sometime ago, visiting a book store, I saw a
book titled The Turning Point. Though I did not buy the book, it brought to
mind that each of us face turning points in our life. Perhaps you may feel
that you are at one of those turning points in your life right now; a health
problem, a marital problem, a financial problem, a spiritual problem, a
personal problem.
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There is an interesting incident in the book War and Peace concerning

Prince Andrew. The Prince has gone through a long period of grief which
had sapped his strength. He thought that his life had no meaning or
purpose. As he traveled over his land in the winter, he passed an old oak
tree which was bare of leaves and looked dead. As he looked at the tree, he
thought to himself, "I am like that tree."
It was not until the following spring that he traveled back across that
same route where he had seen the old oak tree. Feeling as old, as tired, as
meaningless, as depressed as ever, he came to the oak tree. To his surprise
he noticed the oak tree had come to life. It had new leaves and new
growth. The tree, which appeared dead and hopeless and with which he
had identified himself, was new, green, growing, and beautiful. It was a
turning point for him as he realized new life, new meaning, new hope and
new purpose were available to him as it was for the tree and it is also
available to you.
We are influenced by our past, but we are not bound by the past. We
can change our thoughts about the past for present growth. We can change
the direction of our thoughts and feelings. We can see the "No Parking"
sign, move past the sign and let go of adverse and negative conditioning
from the past and deny them control over our life today.
Today is an opportunity to begin again. May we be able to say with
Paul (Philippians 3:13-14), "Brethren I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forth unto the things which are before, I press toward
the mark of the high calling of God." [The idea for this presentation came
from the book Don't Park Here by C. William Fisher]

Chapter 33: Wellness and the Spiritual Connection From Vim and Vigor:
Summer 1992: (An Interview with Chaplain Durbin by Patricia F. Danflous.)
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God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that is the Blessed Trinity
you would expect to learn more about from Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D.
And you do. As a Methodist minister of the Louisiana Conference of the
United Methodist Church, his teachings, counseling and writings emphasize
the wonders and mysteries of the Trinity which foster spiritual growth.
But Chaplain Durbin also recognizes the human trinity - body, mind
and spirit. "Each of us is a trinity within ourselves," he says. "we are made
up of body, mind and spirit. We are physical, emotional and spiritual
beings."
Director of Pastoral Care at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital
(Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy since Jan. 2000), Chaplain Durbin
emphasizes that spiritual healing is very much a part of physical healing.
"To neglect any one area of wellness is to do less than should be done," he
says.
"The three aspects of our being are so different and yet so integrated
that one part of the human trinity cannot be influenced without having
some result on the other two," Chaplain Durbin continues. "If you have a
physical problem, it affects you emotionally and spiritually. If you have an
emotional problem, it affects you physically and spiritually. If you have a
spiritual problem, it affects you both emotionally and physically.
"For example," he continues, "think back to a recent physical illness
and consider whether or not you were under some emotional stress or
pressure prior to the illness. For minor illness, such as a headache or cold,
the situation may have occurred only a short time before the illness. For
more serious conditions, the stressful even may have taken place several
months before."
He emphasizes that not all illness is the result of emotional stress and
all emotional stress does not lead to illness, but we are all more susceptible
to illness at times of emotional stress.
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"Life is more than just being alive mentally and physically", Chaplain
Durbin says. "To be the whole person we were meant to be by our Creator,
we have to be alive spiritually as well as physically and mentally. An
airplane does not cease to be an airplane when it sits in the hangar or taxies
along the runway, but its true nature as an airplane becomes apparent only
when it is airborne. Similarly, a person is a human being even when he or
she is functioning only on the physical or psychological level, but one shows
his or her essential humanness when he rises to the spiritual dimensions.
"When one is functioning on all levels-physically, emotionally and
spiritually-life is more joyful, more productive and more healthy", he states.
Chaplain Durbin and Methodist Hospital Chaplain Judy Nelson
(Director of Pastoral Care since Jan. 2000) see daily confirmations that
spiritual care enhances healing. Although the chaplains experience "miracles"
on a regular basis, prayers and meditation do not always lead to recovery
from illness. "But unexpected recoveries do occur," Chaplain Durbin says.
"Spirituality does have a positive impact on moving the healing process
forward, and it especially helps patients and their families cope with illness."
Methodist Hospital's chaplains are available to all patients, their
families and the hospital staff on a 24-hour-a-day basis. The chaplains
greet each patient within 48 hours of admission with each patient seeing
either Chaplain Durbin or Chaplain Nelson on a daily basis. "The emotional
and spiritual needs of the family and the hospital staff are also important",
says Chaplain Nelson. "We respond to emergencies, codes and deaths, unless
the family requests no spiritual counseling or the individual's own minister is
available."
Chaplain Durbin emphasizes that Methodist Hospital's Pastoral Care
Department carefully monitors those who visit patients. "We welcome an
individual's minister at any time during the patient's stay," he says.
"However, we are also concerned with our patient's right to privacy." "Our
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role is a connecting one, providing a link to spiritual, emotional and physical

development," Chaplain Nelson explains.
Chaplain Nelson, who coordinates a series of pastoral education
programs for ministers and lay leaders, emphasizes that hospital chaplains
are trained in pastoral counseling, not just religion. "We participate in
extensive, intensive training, which emphasizes spirituality as a part of the
entire healing process", she says. "As chaplains, we learn how to listen, how
to be present and how to be sensitive to a particular need at the
appropriate time." "Our training includes theology as well as pastoral care",
say Chaplain Nelson. "this provides us with a comprehensive knowledge and
understanding of human behavior and clinical methodology to better
facilitate the patient's spiritual, emotional, mental and social welfare."
Chaplain Durbin explains that one of a chaplain's responsibilities is
helping the patient or family member express his or her feelings to God.
"Talking to God is praying," he says. "But sometimes individuals are afraid
to express anger or discouragement to God. Our training helps us
understand the words and ways to reach the patient's spiritual and
emotional needs that surround physical wellness."
"There are many anxieties associated with hospitalization, whatever
the illness or condition", says Chaplain Nelson. "For all of us, hospitalization
causes us to question priorities of our life."
No matter what religious faith an individual professes, or whether he
or she has a strong belief in God, faith is tested during physical or emotional
illness. Spiritual support provides the necessary connection for wellness and
healing.
Chapter 34: Hypnotherapy and Healing From Vim and Vigor, Summer
1992 an interview with Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D. by Patricia F.
Danflous:
Methodist Hospital Chaplain Paul Durbin, Ph.D. brings a unique
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approach to his chaplaincy responsibilities. He uses hypnotherapy. (Now,

Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy)
A certified internationally recognized hypnotherapist, Chaplain Durbin
employs hypnosis methods when recommended by the patient's physician to
hasten the healing process, reduce pain and lessen the side effects of the
chemotherapy. Additionally he uses hypnosis and teaches self-hypnosis
techniques to help individuals get rid of undesirable habits; control weight,
improve memory concentration and study habits, improve self-confidence
and athletic ability, improve subconscious communication, encourage
relaxation and help with individual goal-setting.
Of course, the first question most people ask Chaplain Durbin is "Why
does a person of religious faith need hypnosis?" The Chaplain's answer
reflects his strong faith, “Jesus said, ‘I am come that they may have life and
have it more abundantly.’ I believe hypnosis to be a gift of God that helps
people experience a more abundant life.”
Hypnotherapy is an extremely valuable tool in helping a patient cope
with chronic pain. According to Chaplain Durbin, the technique has a
positive effect because it influences the subconscious mind. "The conscious
mind is the logical part of our mind," he says. "The subconscious mind is not
logical; it controls our breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, heartbeat and
other similar functions. It also seeks to meet our deepest needs, expectations
and desires."
A good example of conscious versus subconscious mind comes when a
person wants to stop smoking. Chaplain Durbin says the conscious minds
says "stop smoking", but the subconscious mind says, "How are you going to
make it through the day without a cigarette?" If 10 percent of your mind
is telling you to stop and 90 percent is telling you to pick up another
cigarette, you will more than likely light up a cigarette. With hypnosis, the
subconscious mind is reprogrammed so it assists instead of blocking changes
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in life.
"There are many misconceptions about hypnotherapy," Chaplain
Durbin adds. "the biggest myth is that the subject is under the complete
control of the hypnotist. This is not so, for any suggestion is strictly
censored and the patient remembers much that occurred during the
hypnotherapy session. A person will not do anything under hypnosis that is
against his or her principles or moral standards.
"Hypnosis does not replace a physician's care and it is not a substitute
for necessary medication", he emphasizes. "But it is a powerful tool
activated by the power of an individual's belief system. Believe it will work,
expect it to work, visualize it working and practice it frequently. You will
see improvements as you move forward toward attaining life's goals."Upon
receipt of the IHHF Sealah Award for Hypnotherapy, Chaplain Durbin was
inducted into the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame in March,1992.
Chapter 35: Durbin Explains Hypnosis: From Inside Methodist:
The following is an article from Inside Methodist, a publication of
Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital in New Orleans. This article was
written by Stephanie Underwood from an interview and published in 1985.
When someone mentions hypnosis, the first image that comes to mind
is a man swinging a gold pocket watch from left to right, chanting. "You're
getting sleepy: At the count of three, you will do as I say."
Hypnosis occurs like this "only in the movies," states Chaplain Paul
Durbin. "Unfortunately," he says, "hypnosis has been misrepresented in the
movies and on television so that today, there are many misconceptions
concerning it." Durbin has studied hypnosis and its applications since 1972
and has practiced hypnosis techniques since 1980.
He says the biggest myth is that the subject is under complete control
of the hypnotist and will lose control of his/her mental capacities. "Not so",
say Durbin. "Any suggestion is strictly censored. A person will not do
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anything under hypnosis that is against his or her principles or moral

standards."
Durbin's favorite example of this point: "If you are hypnotized and I
tell you to go down the hall quacking and moving like a duck - if you are
the type of person that loves attention and likes to have people watch you
and you don't mind people laughing at you - then you might do it. On the
other hand, if you're not that kind of person and such behavior would
embarrass you, you would not go down the hall quacking like a duck no
matter how deep your hypnotic state might be." You would probably come
out of hypnosis and say to me, “I came here to stop smoking, not make a
fool of myself.”
Chaplain Durbin conducts seminars on self-hypnosis regularly for the
hospital as well as for various clergy groups. His Wellspring class "Self Help
Through Self Hypnosis," is one of the best attended seminars. The class
draws a variety of people who want to stop smoking, lose weight or learn to
manage stress better. There is no mystical, dark secret to self-hypnosis,
according to Durbin. "Once you learn the technique, you need only to
practice it every day to make it work for you," he says.
Another myth: A hypnotized person may not come out of the trance.
Durbin points out that there is "no case in recorded history in which a
person failed to come out of hypnosis. One might be so relaxed that they
fall asleep, but if so, they will awake naturally."
Durbin states, "If you ask a dozen experts on hypnosis for a definition
of hypnosis, you would get 12 different answers; but some common threads
run through most definitions." They are (1) an altered state of awareness;
(2) focused concentration; (3) conscious and unconscious communication;
and, (4) high susceptibility to suggestion.
The word "hypnosis" comes from the Greek word meaning "sleep."
However, Durbin explains that the hypnotic state has very little to do with
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sleep. He says there are three important differences.

* Brainwaves in hypnosis are characteristic of waking state rather
than the sleeping state.
* A sleeping person does not respond to suggestions, while a
hypnotized person does.
* Conscious is suspended in sleep, but present in hypnosis: "Basically,
says Durbin "there are four ingredients to successful self-hypnosis: (1)
Believe, (2) Expect, (3) Visualize or imagine that it can help you and (4)
Practice it."
Hypnosis has been around since the beginning of time. It is first
referred to in the Book of Genesis, God used hypnosis as an anesthesia on
Adam so that He could remove one of Adam's ribs. Durbin believes that it is
neither pro-religious nor anti-religious. He says, "Like anything which God
has given, it can be used for good and bad purposes." He does, however,
recommend hypnosis for anyone who wants to improve himself.
Chapter 36: Department of Clinical Hypnotherapy With Hospital Job
Description:
It’s official, Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital has a position for a
hypnotherapist. The first to hold that position is Chaplain Paul G. Durbin,
Ph. D. Durbin’s new title is Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy.
I have been working with hypnotherapy since 1982 and one of my
goals has been to have a position of Hypnotherapist at Methodist. I desired
the position for two reason: First, I believe that every hospital should have a
hypnotherapist and second, I wanted hypnotherapy to continue after I retire
at Methodist. I am now retired but continue working 3 days a week as
Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy. Thanks to a forward looking CEO, Mr.
Fred Young, Jr. that dream is now a reality. To the best of my knowledge,
Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital is the first hospital in the United
States to have a department with hypnotherapy in its name. There were
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other hospitals who had hypnotherapist, but hypnotherapy was not in the
department title.
I consider myself to be very fortunate for I have full support for the
use of hypnotherapy by both the Administration and Medical Staff of our
hospital. I receive many consults from our doctors for both inpatient and
outpatient hypnotherapy. I am consulted for stop smoking, weight control,
stress management, personal problems, pain management, hypnotic
preparation for childbirth and other concerns. Most of my inpatient
consults are for pain management and most outpatients come for stop
smoking.
HOSPITAL HYPNOTHERAPIST JOB DESCRIPTION:
Exempt (X) Non-Exempt ( )
JOB TITLE: Hypnotherapist
REPORTS TO: CEO of Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital
SUMMARY OF FUNCTIONS: To assist the CEO in providing hypnotherapy for
patients of Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital and others in the
community. To provide hypnotherapy and hypnosis, guided imagery,
relaxation education to the community.
DESCRIPTION OF REQUIRED DUTIES:
1. Provide hypnotherapy to patient, families, staff and others. (Note
patient/client are used interchangeable)
2. Provide relaxation therapy, guided imagery and the use of the
imagination for enhancement of healing for patient family and staff.
3. Provide hypnosis for pain management. (The hypnotherapist should
provide pain management only upon referral from a physician.)
4. Provide hypnosis for overcoming habits, fears and phobias.
5. Provide hypnotherapy and hypnosis, guided imagery and relaxation
education to the community.
6. Participate with physicians and members of the health care team in
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providing total patient care.

7. Participate in classes on appropriate subjects for inservice education.
8. Speak, present seminars and workshops for civic organizations, churches,
institutions and businesses.
9. Serve on hospital committees as assigned.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Certification from one or more of the following organizations:
a. International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association
b. National Guild of Hypnotists
c. American Counsel of Hypnotist Examiner
d. American Board of Hypnotherapist
e. International Association of Counselors and Therapist
f. National Board of Hypnotherapy and Hypnotic Anesthesiology
g. National Society of Clinical Hypnotherapy
h. American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists
I. International Hypnosis Federation
k. American Hypnosis Association
2. Proficient in the use of hypnosis, relaxation techniques, visualization and
guided imagery.
3. Ability to interact with all levels of the health care team for the welfare
of the patient.
4. Respect for confidential material and confidentiality concerning patient
information is required in line with the physicians' referral.
5. Ability to talk with patients, explain procedure, establish rapport.
Determine if patient is receptive and agrees to the procedure. (Note: As all
inpatient hypnotherapy is by physician's referral, should the patient refuse
the procedure, note the refusal in patient's chart)
6. Ability to solicit information from patient that will be helpful in
developing and using hypnosis, relaxation procedures and/or guided imagery.
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EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
1. College Degree or above with special training in hypnosis, relaxation
procedures, guided imagery and visualization.
2. A minimum of 120 hours of training specific to hypnosis, relaxation,
guided imagery and visualization.
3. A minimum of 25 hours of instruction specific to hypnotic pain
management.
EXPERIENCE PREFERRED:
1. Ability to make independent judgment.
2. Must be accurate in reporting information to other health care
professionals.
3. Must be able to work with other health care professionals for the well-
being of patients, families and staff.
POSITION KNOWLEDGE AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED:
1. Must have knowledge of hypnosis, relaxation procedures guided imagery
and visualization.
2. Must be able to work with people of different religions and cultural
backgrounds.
3. Must be able to work with other health care professionals for the well-
being of patient, families and staff.
4. Ability to help patients and clients.
a. Reduce patients tension, anxiety and fear.
b. To help reduce pain and discomfort.
c. To enhance healing.
d. To prepare patient for surgery by relieving anxiety and creating
confidence.
e. To help patient following surgery by reduction of pain and by
proper suggestion for enhancing healing.
f. To reduce pain and anxiety during childbirth.
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g. To reduce nausea and other side effects of chemotherapy.

h. To reduce the harmful effects of stress.
i. To help patient overcome unwanted habits: stop smoking, nail
biting, hair pulling, etc.
j. To use for weight control.
k. To help clients improve memory, concentration, and study habits.
l. To help enhance athletic ability.
m. To increase self-confidence and ego strengthening.
n. To overcome insomnia.
AREAS OF USE:
1. Use hypnosis and guided imagery for pain reduction and teach self-
hypnosis, relaxation and visualization for pain management.
2. Use hypnosis and guided imagery for reducing the side effects of cancer
treatments and teach self-hypnosis, relaxation, visualization and stress
management.
3. Facilitate the reduction of anxiety, fear, nausea and other side effects of
chemotherapy.
4. Teach pain management and the reduction of anxiety and stress for those
in rehabilitation.
5. Stress management and teach techniques to facilitate relaxation, blood
pressure regulation, weight control, and medication support.
6. Facilitate the reduction of fear, anxiety and pain.
7. Use hypnosis to reduce pain, anxiety, fear, bleeding and stress in
emergency room.
8. Facilitate the reduction of time the patient requires ICU care through
pain management, stress management, providing positive mental
expectation to encourage healing and stabilizing vital signs.
9. Teach techniques for pain management, anxiety and reduction of nausea
during pregnancy, labor and delivery and giving positive suggestions to
 386

reduce or eliminate post-partum blues.

10. Use hypnosis and guided imagery to reduce anxiety and fear before
surgery with suggestion for the success of the surgery and healing. After
surgery use hypnosis and guided imagery to reduce pain and enhance
healing.
11. Use hypnosis and guided imagery and teach self-hypnosis, relaxation
and visualization to help patient deal with medical procedures such as
receiving injections, physical therapy, MRI, respiratory therapy and other
procedures.
12. Teach staff relaxation techniques, self-hypnosis, and visualization for
stress management to help them cope with their jobs and reduce
burnout.13. Use hypnosis to overcome unwanted habits.
Chapter 37: Letter to Insurance Companies and Form for Reimbursement:
Letter to insurance company for payment of hypnotherapy charge.
Letter drafted by Chaplain Durbin in 1990 for VP Finance to an insurance
company that questioned a charge for “Hypnotherapy” on a patient’s
hospital bill. (The insurance claim was approved and we have received no
other questions in regards to insurance charges for “Hypnotherapy” on
patient’s bills.)
It has come to my attention that you have questioned the hypnosis
charges for ______which were prescribed by his/her doctor.
Hypnotherapy (progressive relaxation, mental imagery and hypnosis) is
neither hocus-Pocus nor magic. It is a valid health care tool for enhancing
healing, pain management, and overcoming unwanted habits. In 1958, the
American Medical Association approved the use of hypnosis in health care.
The patient is taught progressive relaxation and self hypnosis so that
the patient can use the procedure when needed and without additional cost.
Dr. Albert Barrocas, Vice President, Medical Affairs of Pendleton Memorial
Methodist Hospital states that the use of hypnotic techniques are useful for a
 387

number of reasons. (1) They are cost effective because no special equipment
or medication is required. (2) They can be learned easily in a short period
of time. (3) They can enhance directly or at least indirectly the healing
process. (4) They can reduce or eliminate pain, therefore decrease the
amount of pain medication needed. (5) They can through the relaxation
procedure allow the patient to better participate in the treatment. (6) They
can reduce the patient's stay in the hospital.
In addition to Dr. Barrocas, many of the medical doctors on staff
consult Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D. for hypnosis for pain management,
stress management, stop smoking, and many other problems. Chaplain
Durbin is a highly qualified hypnotherapist. He is certified by the
International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, American
Council of Hypnotist Examiners, and National Board of Hypnotherapy and
Hypnotic Anaesthesiology and several other national hypnosis organizations.
He has had a number of articles published in several hypnosis and religious
journals. If you have questions regarding the therapeutic uses of hypnosis,
please call Chaplain Durbin at _______.
(For more information I refer you to the following books: six books on
hypnotherapy were listed. A number of articles on the therapeutic uses of
hypnosis was also included)
A form for helping client receive reimbursement for hypnotherapy
charge with physician referral.
Receipt and Statement for Insurance
Patient's Name:_______________________________ Sex________________
Address: ________________________________City: _________________________
State : ______________ Zip_________________ Phone_______________________

SS#_______________________ DOB_______________________
Insured's Name:_________________________________________
 388

Relationship to Patient: ___________________________________

Sex: __________ Phone: ___________ D.O.B.:______________
Address: _________________ City: ________________ State_______________ Zip________
Phone: ____________ D.O.B. __________________ SS# _____________________________
Insurance Co._________________________________________________________________
Policy No. _______________ Group No. __________________ Employer:_______________
Date of onset: ______________ Date of first consultation:
_____________________________
Referring Physician:________________ Address: ____________________________________
City ____________________ State: ____________ Zip: _________ Phone: _____________
CPT Code: Description of Service DMS CODE Fee
Payment
90880 Hypnosis/Single Session IDCA943-2 300.02
Dates of service:
Total Fee:
Signature of Certified Hypnotherapist ________________________________Date:
________
(For Client to sign):
I authorize release of records if necessary to process my claim. I agree that
a photocopy of this authorization is as valid as the original.
Signature: _______________________________________ Date: _____________________
Chapter 38: Cindy Thompson Interviews Chaplain Durbin for College Course:
1. ARE THERE ANY INSURANCE PLANS THAT PAY FOR YOUR SERVICE?
ANSWER: The insurance companies pays for "inpatient" hypnotherapy.
Hopefully we will have a similar program established for "outpatients" in the
near future. At present I have a form that I give the client to seek
reimbursement from his/her insurance. (Refer to Chapter 37: Letter to
Insurance Companies and Form for Reimbursement:) To the best of my
knowledge, all insurance companies have paid if the client had a physician’s
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referral attached.
2. HOW LONG ARE YOUR SESSIONS?
ANSWER: 40-60 minutes
3. HOW MANY SESSIONS DO YOU USUALLY HOLD FOR ONE PERSON?
ANSWER: Depends on the problem. Generally from 1 to 4. Occasionally
more sessions will be necessary. Stop smoking usually takes one session and a
person can come back anytime within the first 30 days for re-enforcement
at no extra cost. Only a few have to return. (Stop smoking is the only thing
that has that offer.) Occasionally, a person will come for the appointment
for one problem and then want to work on another issue or several issues
which may call for more sessions than normal. I require at least three
sessions for weight control and 6 sessions “hypnotic preparation for
childbirth.
4. WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND?
ANSWER: Bachelor of Arts - Centenary College of Louisiana; Master of
Divinity - Candler School of Theology, Emory University Atlanta, Ga; Ph.D.
American Institute of Hypnotherapy, Irvine, Ca. I have well over 400 hours
of hypnotherapy training.
5. IS CERTIFICATION REQUIRED IN THIS AREA? IF SO, HOW DO YOU
OBTAIN IT?
ANSWER: There is no state hypnotherapy license/registration required in
LA. I am certified by the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy
Association (IMDHA), National Board of Hypnotherapy and Hypnotic
Anaesthesiology (NBHA), National Guild of Hypnotherapy, American Council
of Hypnotic Examiners, American Board of Hypnotherapy, National Guild of
Hypnotist, International Hypnosis Federation (IHF) International Association
of Counselors and Therapist and Professional Board of Hypnotist. I am a
"Diplomat" of IMDHA and "Fellow" with NBHA and IHF. I obtained the
certification by meeting the requirements of the various organizations.
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6. DO YOU WORK FROM AN OFFICE, OUT/IN PATIENT CLINIC, LONG

TERM HOSPITAL/ ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL?
ANSWER: I am Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy at Pendleton Memorial
Methodist Hospital in New Orleans, La., an acute care hospital and have an
office in the Medical Center of East New Orleans, 5640 Suite 840, New
Orleans, La. 70127. 504-244-5431. MCENO is on the campus of PMMH.
7. WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF YOUR THERAPY?
ANSWER: To help people overcome unwanted habits, pain management and
enhance healing, stress management and other self-improvement needs of
the client.
8. WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO YOUR SUCCESS?
ANSWER: Reputation, professional skills as a hypnotherapist, a passion for
my work and my personal training. I am always a student.
9. WHAT WAS YOUR START UP COSTS?
ANSWER: Hypnotherapy education, office and salary provided by PMMH
10. WHAT IS YOUR COMPETITION?
ANSWER: Local hypnotherapist, but we work closely together through
"Hypnotherapy Group of New Orleans" which meets once a month.
11. HOW ARE YOUR PATIENTS CATEGORIZED?
ANSWER: In regards to age from children to senior citizens, both male and
female. If you mean types of problems, I would include stop smoking, pain
management and enhancing healing (this covers many health problems such
as pre-post surgery, childbirthing preparation, working with individuals with
various diseases and injuries.( I require a physician’s referral for working with
pain management and health issues.), stress management, study, enhancing
concentration and memory, weight control, etc
12. WHAT ARE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUR AREA?
ANSWER: New Orleans is a large metropolitan area.
13. DO YOU DO ANY MARKETING?
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ANSWER: PMMH provides advertisement through local paper, local

publications and mailings. I speak at local churches, civic groups, institutions
and the hospital sponsors community education programs which I
participate in. I also network with physicians regarding my services.
14. WHAT IS YOUR SALES FORECAST?
ANSWER: Not sure what you mean, outlook for the future of hypnosis at
PMMH is very good.
15. WHO DO YOU USE FOR PERSONNEL? HOW MANY PEOPLE? WHAT
ARE THEIR TITLES?
ANSWER: I share a secretary with the Vice President for Medical Affairs. My
office is in the MCENO. Prior to retiring as Director of Pastoral Care and
Clinical Hypnotherapy, I had two secretaries (one worked M, Tu, W and the
other Th, F) Upon retirement, I remained as Director of Clinical
Hypnotherapy working 3 days a week.
16. ANY NECESSARY ITEMS TO START UP A CLINIC/OFFICE?
ANSWER: Desk, desk chair, two chairs, a recliner, cd/tape player, computer,
book cases. I also have a 3 tape fast speed recorder as I give pre-recorded
tapes with my sessions depending on their reason for the session. Example
"stop smoking" tape, "pain management and enhancing healing" tape, etc.
17. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF YOUR THERAPY?
ANSWER: The future looks good. PMMH has plans for a free standing
"complementary" medicine clinic which will be realized at some future date.
18. HOW MANY PATIENTS DO YOU SEE IN A DAY/WEEK?
ANSWER: Projection is 10 - 20 clients per three day work week for the
first year.
19. WHAT IS THE SALARY RANGE FOR A THERAPIST IN YOUR FIELD?
ANSWER: When I was full time as Director of Pastoral Care and Clinical
Hypnotherapy, I received a very good salary in line with other heads of
departments. Now that I am retired and working part time as Director of
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Clinical Hypnotherapy, I receive a much smaller salary, but all expenses are
paid and I have retirement income from the hospital, military (I am a
retired US Army Brigadier General) and Social Security.
Cindy: I thank you very much.
Chaplain Durbin: I was happy to be a part of your research and hope you
make a very good grade on this project.
Chapter 39 : Human Sexuality:
(Permission has been granted to use portions of Dr. George Kappas’
books: Professional Hypnotism Manual, Your Sexual Personality, Improve
Your Sex Life Through Self-Hypnosis by his son, John Kappas.)
Ever since the beginning of time, sex has had the potential for pleasure
and pain. It is one of the most intimate and pleasurable experiences of
human life, but used inappropriately can be one the most degrading
experiences. It can be used for propagation and merriment but under
different circumstances can be irritating, painful and degrading. The way
an individual responds to sexual urges is dependent on his or her own
personal history, environmental conditioning, social standards and religious
beliefs. Sexual activity can bring joy, pleasure, birth or hurt, destruction and
death.
As therapist, people come to us to help them overcome problems.
Included in these problems are those which are sexual in nature. Many
times the presenting problem may be something else, but it is not unusual to
discover that one’s attitude or sexual history contributes or is the foundation
of the problem. (Refer to Betty in Chapter 18: Age Regression Case History)
Sexuality has to do not only with sexual relations but with human
relations. To be better prepared to help people with sexual and relationship
problems, we should be aware of physical and emotion sexuality. As there is
physical (direct) and emotional (indirect) suggestibility, there is physical and
emotional sexuality. Suggestibility and sexuality are not the same for a
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physical (direct) suggestible may be an emotional sexual person and an

emotional (indirect) suggestible may be a physical sexual person.
When I was in college, I read many books on sexuality and how to
please the female sexually. Most all the books dwelt with the physically
sexual female. Of course, at that time I was totally unaware (as were the
experts on sexual behavior) of the sexual behavior of physical and emotional
sexuals. An illustration of misinformation which was prevalent in all those
books was that when the sex act was over, the female wanted the male to
continue to touch, caress and be affectionate. As we shall discuss later in this
chapter, one of the characteristic of an emotional sexual person of either sex
is that when the sex act is over; he or she wants go on to other things such
as go to sleep, go to the bathroom, get dressed, etc. Well, it so happened
that I am a physical sexual person and my wife is an emotional sexual so
when I wanted to continue the courtship after sexual intercourse, she
wanted to go on to others things. My response to her reaction was that I felt
rejected. When I learned about physical and emotional sexuality, I
understood her reaction was not rejection but just her built-in response.
There are a lot of other differences between physical and emotional sexual
people which if know can prevent a lot of misunderstanding between sexual
partners
We have found that suggestibility has a strong effect on sexuality, but
the two should not be confused. Suggestibility is created by the mother;
sexuality is created by the father or dominate male figure in the early years
of life. As a rule, a child will develop “physical sexuality” if he/she is raised in
a home where the father is outward and open in his demonstration
affection. If the father show little affection toward the child, or if he is
absent all or most of the time, or if he is abusive; the child tends to become
“emotionally sexual.”
Physical sexual persons project their sexual responses outwardly. They
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dwell on sex. They desire and need physical sex often, usually as evidence of
their acceptance. They cover up or repress negative emotions with this
extreme sex drive. Emotional sexuals, on the other hand feel their sexual
responses inwardly. They protect the physically body by projecting emotions
such as fear or embarrassment to defend or repress physical feelings.
Many marital and relationship problems deal with sexual
misunderstandings which can lead to a lack of communication between men
and women. In the beginning of the relationship, when the newness and
excitement of sex are present in both male and female, each seems to
communicate sexually. They build expectation and compliment the sexuality
of the other. As the honeymoon stage comes to an end, their dominate
sexuality becomes more prevalent and their true sexual response becomes the
norm. Communication sexually and verbally becomes more and more
difficult. As their dominate sexuality emerges problems between the two
takes can develop.
According to the findings of Dr. Kappas, 60% of all females are
emotional sexuality and 40% are physical sexuality. Among men, this
60/40 split seem to exist in the opposite direction. It is interesting to note
that the old saying that opposites attract is often true of human sexuality.
There is a tendency to be attracted to a person of the opposite sexuality.
In discussing the characteristics of the physical and emotional sexuals,
I will discussing the extreme behaviors (from 60% to 100% physical or
emotional). Of course, the further from 50% one goes the greater the
characteristics of physical and emotional become. The majority of people
have a combination of physical and emotional sexual characteristics that do
not fall into extreme categories. However, it you are aware of the extremes,
some of the experiences you have or your sexual partner have or your clients
share with you can be better understood.
Understanding your own, as well as your partner’s sexual response
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factors can improve your relationships, enhance your sexual relationships and
reduce the possibility of misunderstandings. When the understanding of your
client’s sexual response factors are needed in the therapeutic situation, the
knowledge can improve your counseling. A proper understanding can allow
you to help people change direction from a possible destruction of their
relationship to a happier and more successful way of life. Working with
people who have sexual and relationship problems. the goal is to bring the
clients sexuality closer to the center.
Some special aspects of the physical sexual:
1. She is comfortable in social gathers and easy to know.
2. She is outspoken and candid in stating her opinions.
3. She is an interesting conversationalist.
4. She is generous, but usually in ways she dictates.
5. She is physically attentive and a toucher.
6. She likes to demonstrate her affections by holding hands or other
physical contact.
7. She flatters her man and caters to his sexual ego.
8. She craves marriage and emotional commitment.
9. She apologizes if she thinks she is wrong or has hurt.
10. She will often use sex as a means of making-up after a fight or
argument.
11. She revels in her sexual role toward her mate but demands the same
attitude from him.
12. She is versatile in her sexual activities.
13. She is sexually available, even after a fight, rejections and periods of
neglect...
Some visual characteristics of female physical sexuality:
1. In standing, or walking, the physical sexual female’s toes tend to point
outwardly, duck-like, rather than straight ahead or pigeon-toed as observed
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in some emotionally sexual females. 'I`his outward pointing of her feet

indicates that she is opening herself up sexually.
2. Perhaps because her heartbeat is faster and her circulation more rapid
than her emotionally sexual counterpart, she is usually a deep breather. She
tends to bring in air through her open mouth and her nostrils tend to dilate
perceptibly each time she inhales.
3. Her skin and body temperature are higher than that of the emotionally
sexual female. Her hands and feet are warm. The soft fleshy areas of her
breasts and buttocks are usually warm to the touch. During hot weather,
she tends to have tiny beads of perspiration on her forehead, upper lip and
in the valley between her breast.
4. During even the most luridly suggestive conversation she looks into the
eyes of the male, rather than dropping her gaze as is the habit of the
emotionally sexual female.
5. When she is the recipient of little attentive gestures, such as refilling her
glass she tends to stare directly into the face and eyes of the male rather
than at the glass which he is filling, which is the habitual reaction of the
emotionally sexual female.
6. During conversation, she stares directly at her male companion while he
answers her or speaks to her. By looking directly at him, she is
subconsciously seeking signs of his acceptance of her or she is alerted to any
possible indications of potential rejection. The emotional female has trouble
starting into the eyes of her male companion.
Some of the characteristics of the emotional sexual female:
1. The emotionally sexual female has a slower heartbeat.
2. She has lower pulse rate than the physically sexual female.
3. Her body temperature is lower because of the reduced activity of the
circulation.
4. She perspires less than the physical.
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5. Her hands and feet tend to be cold.

6. For the emotionally sexual female, sex is far more a function of the heart
and the mind than it is between her legs. From arousal through simulation
to climax, it is primarily a function of the mind.
7. Often her buttocks and breast will be cold to the touch. Due to her
restricted circulation, her skin tends to be cold.
8. Because the skin is cold, any rubbing may create irritation. This can
cause frustration to set in and cause a negative reaction to the mates’s
attempts to create a positive sexual reaction.
9. Most emotionally sexual females have an inner feeling of sexual inferiority
and inadequacy.
10. Once she has experienced a climax further stimulation results in
irritation. She usually want no more touching. (What had all those sex
manuals told me about being a good sex partner? They told me that the
woman wanted to continue to be touched after her climax as a means to
show her that her mate loved her after sex as he had before. I happen to be
a high physical sexual male and my wife a high emotional female. We have
been married over 44 years. For over 20 years, I questioned my abilities as
sexual partner because when sex was over, she wanted to stop all touching,
kissing and caressing. It was like she was saying, “kiss me and go to
sleep.”As a result, I felt rejected. Once I knew about physical and emotional
sexuality, I knew that was just the way emotional sexuals react. Know I can
say, “Gee that must have been good for her because she just wants me to
kiss her and leave her alone.”)
11. The emotional female is more prone to participate in sports than to
observe. She prefers an element of excitement or danger in her hobbies or
sports.
12. She dresses more conservatively than her physical counterpart.
13. She tends to bottle thing up inside her. When she seems to be upset
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about something and her mate ask her what is wrong, she may say,
“Nothing” or “You know.” The mate may not have an idea of what is
wrong. He may be completely surprised when she finally tells him.
14. Emotional sexual females have a sexual cycle. Her individual sex urge
may assert itself every 3 days, every 7, every 30, every 6 months, once a
year.
15. The emotional sexual female may have some difficulty in expressing
verbally her love for her mate. Remember the play and movie, “Fiddler on
the roof.” In that play, the wife could not say, “I love you.” Her husband
says something like, “You never say, ‘I love you.’ Do you love me?” She
replies something like, “Of course, I do. I cook your food, I keep a good house
for you, I have your children. Of course I do.” She was obviously an
emotional sexual female and he was a physical male.
Do not come to the conclusion that the emotionally sexual female does
not enjoy sexual contact. The emotionally sexual female is often capable of a
high level of sexual suggestibility and sensual arousal. She must, however, be
led into the mood for sex -- she cannot be pushed into it. In many cases she
is infinitely more susceptible to verbal suggestibility as an overture to sex
than to physical stimulation. Unless and until she becomes emotionally
aroused to sex she tends to be passive and unresponsive. She will often
resort to faking her orgasm.
Characteristics of a physical sexual male:
1. Has a tremendous sex drive and thinks about sex most of the time.
2. His partner is almost always the dominate member of the partnership
and he seems content to let her assume that role as long as she responds to
his sexual needs.
3. He is very attentive to his mate. He will open doors and pull back a
chair for her.
4. He likes to express public displays of affection.
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5. He is less likely to be unfaithful than is the emotional sexual male.

6. He tends to be very possessive of any female with whom he enjoys sexual
intimates.
Characteristics of the emotional sexual male:
1. He is more career oriented than the physical sexual. Career tends to be
more important than his mate or children.
2. It is not unusual for the highly emotional sexual male to have one or
more mistresses.
3. He has a tendency to display a totally selfish attitude towards his sex
relations.
4. His sexual desires runs in cycles.
5. The highly emotional sexual tends to pursue a seemingly endless
procession of sexual encounters.
6. In the early stages of a relationship his desire for sex is strong and
frequent, but the passion diminishes rapidly as the newness wear off.
7. Once he climaxes, he has no more desire to continue the touching,
petting, kissing, caressing.
8. He often experiences resentment when his mate becomes pregnant.
9. He see children as a deterrent to his business or professional objectives.
10. He usually follows a schedule and regulates his life to an appointment
calender.
11. He feels a compulsive need to carry an excessive amount of cash to
provide him with a sense of security.
12. He is financially generous with himself while being frugal with mate and
family.
13. He is more than likely interested in sports that he participates in rather
than spectator sports.
14. In his sexual relations he is inclined to blame his partner or partners for
his own physical and emotional sexual shortcomings and inadequacies.
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15. The emotional sexual may have some difficulty in expressing verbally his
love for his mate.
Some years ago, I was working with a couple and one of the main
problems was the husband’s difficulty in saying, “I love you.” He was a good
husband and father who helped her with washing the dishes, taking out the
garbage and such things. He brought her flowers on special occasions and
surprise gifts from time to time. She said, “Do you love me?” He said, “Yes,
of course.” She responded, “Well, please tell me so.” He replied, “You
should know I love you because I wash the dishes, I take out the garbage and
bring you flowers.” They had completed the suggestibility questionnaire and
the sexuality questionnaire. She responded better to direct suggestions and
was a physical sexual. He was a physical suggestible and an emotional sexual.
I suggested to her, “Every time he washes the dishes, hear ‘I love you.’ Every
time he takes out the garbage, hear ‘I love you.’ Every time he brings you
flowers or a surprise gift, hear, ‘I love you.’” I saw them several months after
they had completed counseling and they were much happier.
For information on homosexuality and sexual personality, I refer you
to Dr. Kappas’ books: Professional Hypnotism Manual, Your Sexual
Personality, and Improve Your Sex Life Through Self-Hypnosis. I will say
that the majority of male homosexuals are physical sexuals and the majority
of female homosexuals are emotional sexuals. Dr. Kappas once said that he
was asked, “Do all gay people come to therapy for the purpose of getting
out of the gay life?” He said that 70% come to work out personal and
emotional problems and to learn to function in a healthier manner in their
relationship. Only about 30% come in for conversion to heterosexuality.
Another question that is asked, “Can anyone who is gay go straight?” My
answer to that question, as was Dr. Kappas’, is “Yes.” [Durbin: There may be
a small percentage of homosexuals who have internal organs of the opposite
sex or who have a hormonal imbalance that would make it difficult to
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change, but they are few in number.]

The first consideration must be the homosexual’s own personal attitude
toward her/his homosexual tendencies and practices. In any consideration of
conversion or adjustment, the homosexual must first arrive at the moment
of truth in which she/he makes the personal decision and commitment to
either abandon or embrace a future life of homosexual activities. If the wish
of the client is to go straight, she or he can be helped to do so with proper
therapy and the understanding of one’s personality. A therapist should
work with homosexuals to change their sexual orientation only if that is they
desire. At any rate one under hypnosis can not be made to do anything
against her/his will or desire unless you use hypnosis as a brainwashing tool
and as far as I am concerned that is unethical.
The Suggestibility Questionnaire and Sexuality Questionnaire and how
to score them can be found in Professional Hypnotism Manual and Improve
Your Sex Life Through Self-Hypnosis. The Sexuality Questionnaire can also be
found in Your Sexual Personality. For information on these books, you can go
to http://www.hypnosismotivation.com/.
SECTION SIX: AVOIDING PITFALLS
Chapter 40: False Memories: Truth or Consequence:
In the early days of television there was a TV program titled, "Truth
or Consequences." A question was asked and if the contestant correctly
answered the question, he or she the won a prize. If the answer was
incorrect, the participate got a consequence. Today Recovered Memory
Therapists are playing a dangerous game of "Truth or Consequence." The
consequence is false memory which can bring a lot of pain to the client,
family and others. Psychiatrists, psychologist, clergy and other counselors
beware of Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT) and be aware of the False
Memory Syndrome (FMS).
A few years ago, a new therapy system referred to as "Recovered
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Memory Therapy" caught on with many professional therapist. In that

group, I do not include those who use hypnosis and other counseling
techniques to discover past history that might contribute to a present day
problem and use it to help the person live better today without destruction
of others. I do not included those therapist who work with individuals who
have always remembered their sexually abuse and are working in the here
and now to overcome any problems initiated by that abuse.
I am including those therapist who plant false memories and
encourage their clients to confront, hate, break with and sue parents and
others for something that may or may not have happened years ago. These
therapist believe that most adult problems are caused by sexual abuse and
this is especially true of women. More men are included now because of the
accusation of children sexual abuse by Catholic Priest. I conclude that most
of those accusations are true, especially those made by men who have always
remembered their abuse but would not speak of it before. I do think that
most of those who recovered memories during therapy are experiencing false
memories. An example takes us back to 1993 when 34-year-old Stephen
Cook claimed that Cardinal Joseph Bernardino had molested him as a
teenage, pre-seminary student and that he only remembered this in
therapy. Many people and especially those in the Media immediately
accepted the story as true. Cook eventually retracted his charges and came
to see his memories were a product of therapy. As the issue of priest
molestation has only recently surfaced, this chapter deals more with women
who recover memories because this has been the focus of my research.
In an article from the Cincinnati Enquire, “Hypnosis Provides Valuable
Police Tool”, Janice Moore writes: “Dr. William C. Wester acknowledges the
potential for misuse of hypnosis and doesn't hesitate to expose it. In fact, Dr.
Wester discredited the sex-abuse allegations against Cardinal Joseph
Bernardin in 1994. A framed newspaper article about the case hangs on
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Dr. Wester's office wall at Athenaeum of Ohio, where he directs the master
of arts degree program in pastoral counseling. Former seminary student
Steven Cook alleged then-Bishop Bernardin had molested him 17 years
earlier. Dr. Wester had hypnotized Mr. Cook previously, and no sex-abuse
accusations had surfaced. Dr. Wester questioned the methods of a
Pennsylvania therapist who had hypnotized Mr. Cook, causing the allegations
to surface. Mr. Cook recanted and withdrew his allegation against the
Cardinal. Qualified practitioners employ safeguards against inaccuracies, Dr.
Wester said, by carefully wording questions and following a script to avoid
influencing the witness/client
From personal counseling sessions, books and other materials, a
pattern frequently occurs in RMT. The sessions began with a client coming
to the therapist with a presenting problem other than sexual abuse.
Regardless of the presenting problem, the therapist tends to believe that the
client was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Thus counseling is based upon
the therapist’s agenda, not the clients problem. The abuser is usually
assumed to be the father and/or brothers, uncles and grandfathers, but may
also include the mother, grandmother and others. With this motivation, the
therapist’s next step is to convince the client that she was abused. If the
client says she was not abused, the therapist responds that the denial is
proof of childhood sexual abuse. It is similar to the witch trails at Salem.
Those suspected of being witches were thrown into a pond. If they floated
they were guilty and burned. If they sank, they were innocent but dead.
Whether the client accepts the diagnosis or continues to deny, they are often
encouraged to read one of the so-called survivor's books, such as The
Courage to Heal by Bass and Davis or a host of other survivor books.
Once the client is convinced that her problems can be cured by
remembering childhood sexual abuse, the therapist uses a variety of
techniques to help the client uncovered repressed memories. Among these
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techniques used are hypnosis, sodium amytal, guided imagery, age

regression, progressive relaxation with suggestions, automatic writing, body
memory, and group survivors work to get to the so-called repressed
memories. As a certified clinical hypnotherapist, I use most of these
techniques, except for sodium amytal. It is not the techniques that I have
problems with, but how the techniques are used or rather misused.
A few years ago Dr. Art Winkler told the story of a girl who had gone
to a therapist and had recovered memories of being sexual abused as a child.
During his work with her using regression to cause, they discovered that she
had never been sexually abused as a child. She had accused her father of
molesting her from age 6 to 12. When regressed by Dr. Winkler, she
discovered a very different history. At that time the family lived in a house
with very thin walls so she could hear what was going on in the next room,
especially if she was making an effort to hear. During childish play with her
girl friends she was told how babies were made and that adults enjoy “doing
it" even when they were not trying to have a baby. She began to listen
trying to determine when her parents were “doing it." As she listened to
them having sexual intercourse she would masturbate and pretend that her
father was having sex with her.
She had gone to a therapist with a presenting problem which had
noting to do with sexual abuse. The therapist insisted that her symptoms
were an indication that she had been abused. With the use of hypnosis and
guided imagery, the woman described her fantasies as real events. During
the hypnosis, the experience was so realistic that she believed her father had
abused her. I have had clients who had similar experiences with Recovered
Memory Therapist. (They are reported in my book, Kissing Frogs: Practical
Uses of Hypnotherapy: Second Edition, p237-251) In regards to memory;
a thought, image, idea whether real or not; repeated often enough or when
emotionally charged may becomes like a real memory to the subconscious
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mind.
Dr. John F. Kihlstrom, Ph.D. describes FMS as a condition that results
when the memory is distorted or confabulated so that a person's identity
and interpersonal relationships are centered around a memory of a
traumatic experience or experiences which are false but in which the person
strongly believes. FMS is diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained
that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle and disrupting
adaptive behaviors. FMS is especially destructive because the person
stubbornly refuses to accept any evidence that might challenge the memory.
Thus it takes on a life of its own which is resistant to any effort to discover
the truth. The person may become so focused on the memory that he or she
may be effectively distracted from coping with the real problems in his or
her life. (John F. Kihlstrom from the internet)
Beware of false memories because of the trauma caused to the client
who experiences these false memories. Beware of false memories because of
the hurt and pain experienced by parents who are accused. Beware of false
memories because of the damage to families that results from false
memories. Beware of false memories for your own well-being. Many
families and retractors (individuals who experienced false memories and are
now refuting those memories) are suing the therapist who developed the
false memories
Gary Ramona was the first parent to win a law suit against his
daughter's therapist for implanting false memories. After seeing a therapist
about an eating disorder, Mr Ramona's adult daughter decided that her
father raped her when she was a child. Mr. Ramona, a California vineyard
executive, lost his job, his children, and his wife who came to believe ever
word of the charges produced in therapy . With deep fervor, the woman
proclaimed that mothers have a gut feeling about their children and
everything happening to them and that these gut feeling about her
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daughter's experience were all the proof she needed.

Ms Ofra Bikel who produced a documentary, "Divided Memories" for
the TV program Frontline pointed out to Ms. Ramona what she had said
and then asked "You said you were happily married for 25 years, so where
were your gut feelings." It is interesting to note that she mumbles a reply
that the "gut feelings" like the rape memories only began with the visits to
her daughter’s therapist. He won in court, but thanks to his daughter's
accusations; he lost job, his family and has not seen his children in several
years so he ask the question, "So tell me, what did I win?" A compelling
point in the case was a medical report that his daughter was a virgin.
BURGUS V BRAUN: Arlington Heights, IL Daily Herald.: (4 Nov 1997)
A Lombard woman on Monday reached a $10.6 million record settlement
with her former psychiatrist and a Chicago hospital over allegations she had
been brainwashed into believing she was a satanic high priestess who had
abused her children and been tortured herself. After a six-year legal battle
in Cook county Circuit Court, the woman, Patricia A. Burgus, 41, agreed to
the settlement with Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and
psychiatrist Bennett G. Braun. “The settlement is the largest in history for
a case involving recovered-memory therapy”, said Christopher Barden, a
psychologist and attorney who represented Burgus.
Rush Presbyterian Dissociative Disorders Unit Scheduled to Close On
December 19, 1997. Channel 5 in Chicago broadcast an exclusive
investigative report of closing of the Rush Dissociative Disorders Unit
scheduled for early 1998. It was reported that the closure comes amid
mounting legal difficulties faced nationwide by proponents of MPD therapy.
It quoted Rush Hospital officials stating that the closure was a business
decision.
A footnote to the Burgus case. In one of Dr. Braun’s teaching films is
a interview with one of Burgus’s young sons, both were hospitalized for three
 407

years. In the film, the boy describes a satanic ritual in which they cut open
the stomach of a victim. He described what had happened and the terrible
smell. Dr Braun asked how could such a young boy describe such a horrible
scene if he were not exposed to it by Satanist. After she was out of Rush
Presbyterian Hospital, Ms. Burgus saw the film and she said the description
came from a scene from a Star Wars movie.
I consider RMT to be based on bad assumption and the result is bad
therapy. RMT is bad therapy because it makes assumptions that are not
valid, it rewrites a persons history with very painful results, it makes the
client very dependent on the therapist, separates clients from their natural
families, it causes the client to induce some very emotionally painful
experiences which comes only from the imagination and quite often makes
the client worse instead of better.
Perhaps nothing fueled the flames of the fires of recovered memory
therapy as much as the books by survivors. During the twentieth century,
few books have done more harm than the Bass and Davis book The Courage
to Heal which is considered the bible of the RTM. Early in the book the
claim is made, "If you are unable to remember any specific instances like
the ones mentioned above and still have a feeling that something abusive
happened to you, it probably did." The book continues "Often the knowledge
that you were abused starts with a tiny feeling, an intuition. Assume your
feelings are valid." Another statement to prepare the soil of the mind for
implanted memories is "If you have unfamiliar or uncomfortable feelings as
you read this book, don't be alarmed. Strong feelings are part of the healing
process. On the other hand, if you breeze through these chapters, you
probably aren't feeling safe enough to confront these issues. Or you may be
coping with the book the same way you coped with abuse - by separating
your intellect from your feeling." They have got you whether you are feeling
uncomfortable or if you are feeling nothing. Either way the authors assume
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that you were sexually abused and they will go to any lengths to recover the
memories without regards to the truth.
The authors assume that anyone reading their book was abused for
they write, "To heal from child sexual abuse, you must face the fact that you
were abused. This is often difficult for survivors. When you've spent your life
denying the reality of your abuse, when you don't want it to be true, or
when your family repeatedly calls you crazy or a liar, it can be hard to stay
clear in the knowledge that you were abused."
The authors encourages women to separate themselves from
their"family of origin", to sue their parents, to disassociate with anyone who
does not support their claims and hate those who they discovered abused
them. The book tells of one woman who claims that she was abused by her
grandfather, went to his deathbed and, in front of all the other relatives,
angrily confronted him right there in the hospital. Forgiveness is not
encouraged and in fact is discouraged.
I believe that forgiveness can contribute much to healing. Habitual
grudges, resentment, smoldering rage plays havoc with our health and well-
being and weakens our resistance to disease and/or emotional illness. We
need to forgive those who have harmed us. That does not mean that we
condone what they did nor do we need to have a close relationship to that
person. By forgiving them, we release ourselves from the power that they
hold over us. We need to forgive even when the person who has harmed us
do not ask for nor deserves our forgiveness. Whether the person is living or
dead, we need to forgive in order to free ourselves from the power that
person has over us. This is true regardless of what has happened to us
including sexual, physical or emotional abuse.
I am reminded of Sandy who came to me for counseling. Sandy, 21
years old, was sexually abused by an older brother for several year while
they were growing up. She had always remembered the abuse and the
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memories were having a detrimental effect on her. We discussed many

aspects of those memories and how she could be released from their power.
One of the things she needed to do was forgive her brother. That does not
mean that she has to like him or that what he did was alright. She could
not be freed until she could forgive him. He had not asked her for
forgiveness nor was he visibly sorry for his abuse. The forgiving act of Sandy
did not change her brother, but it did change her. After several sessions
covering many issues, she said that she was ready to forgive her brother. I
said, "In your imagination, your brother is sitting in a chair facing you. Can
you forgive him even if he does not request forgiveness nor deserves
forgiveness.” She said, "I forgive you Robert for the sexual things you did to
me as we were growing up. I forgive you and release myself from the power
that you have had over me. The power that made me feel guilty, that has
prevented me from fully enjoying sex with my husband and has weakened
my self-esteem. I am now free to live my life joyfully." Sandy lives a much
happier life and responds joyfully during sexual relations with her husband.
Without forgiveness, the abuser continues to have power over the
person abused. Every time the abused person thinks of what was done to
her, she experiences it emotionally and is being raped again. Forgive, let it
go, and release the power the abuser has over you.
The Courage to Heal Workbook, by Laura Davis, continues with the
assumption that the reader has been sexual abused and the book is used to
convince her that she was abused. The Workbook goes on to encourage
homosexual activities. Aware that a hetero-sexual person might have
problems with their first homosexual encounter, she writes, "You don't have
to be physically aroused to begin sexual activity, simply willing to begin." So
what begins with the desire to help people overcome their adult problems,
becomes an attempt to seduce the person into a different sexual life style. Is
this attitude also sexual abuse???
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Sue Blume lists 34 items as "Incest Survivor's Aftereffect Checklist."

She includes such problems as ambivalence or intensely conflicting
relationships, phobias, anger, feeling crazy, feeling different, eating
disorders, fear of dark, low self-esteem, gagging sensitivity, or even wearing
baggy clothes. It is not surprising that Blume writes, "At any given time,
more than three quarters of my clients are women who were molested in
childhood by someone they knew. Many, if not most, incest survivors do not
even know that the abuse ever occurred...Most survivors need many years
and often many therapists, before they can face the truths of their past"
How many of those clients recovered their abuse memories after counseling
by Ms. Blume? She is more concerned with her agenda than with the clients
well being.
Patricia Love in The Emotional Incest Syndrome, is not satisfied with
the common accepted understanding of incest. She includes those who loved
their children too much and overprotected them. "To the casual observers,
the parents may appear loving and devoted. They may spend a great deal
of time with their children and lavish them with praise and material gifts.
But in the final analysis, their love is not a nurturing, giving love - it's an
unconscious ploy to satisfy their own unmet needs." Over protection of a
child may cause difficulties to the client, but that is not incest or sexual
abuse.
Love has the client to ask ten question and if she answers "yes" to
three or more, that means she probably experienced incest. Love’s ten
questions:
1. I was the source of emotional support for one of my parents.
2. I felt closer to one parent than the other.
3. I got the impression a parent did not want me to marry or move away
from home.
4. Any potential boyfriend or girlfriend was never "good enough" for one of
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my parents.
5. I felt I had to hold back my own needs to protect a parent.
6. I felt responsible for my parents' happiness.
7. I sometimes felt invaded by a parent.
8. One of my parents had unrealistic expectations of me.
9).One of my parents was preoccupied with drugs/alcohol, work, outside
interest, or another sibling. 10. One of my parents was my best friend.
(Durbin: Regardless of how many "yes" answers are given, these experience
do not qualify as incest.)
Renee Fredrickson in her book Repressed Memories: a Journey to
Recover from Sexual Abuse writes, "Denial is overcome only by patient
growth in the opposite direction... In reading this book, whenever you find
yourself worrying 'What if I'm wrong?' try to always to ask yourself the
opposite question, 'What if I'm right?'" She ask suggestive and leading
questions such as, "How old do you think you were when you were first
abused? Write down the very first number that pops into your head, no
matter how improbable it seems to you. Does it seem too young to be true?
I assure you it is not."
Fredrickson advises "Seat yourself comfortably and take a few
relaxing breaths before you begin the actual work. Most people prefer doing
imagery work with their eyes closed. Outside stimulation is kept to a
minimum and you can focus all your attention on your internal reality... If
nothing surfaces, wait a bit and then give your best guess... If you feel
resistance or skepticism, try to go past it. Whether what is remembered
around that focal point is made up or real is of no concern at the beginning
of the process.” (Durbin: “nor at any other time, for Fredrickson the only
thing she wants is an abuse memory regardless of whether it is true or not.
It make no difference to her, but it sure does to the client and the ones who
are going to be confronted, accused and perhaps sued.)
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Interestingly enough, Mary Sommerfeld of Arden Hills, Minn. sued

Fredrickson for planting false memories in her mind while she was
undergoing therapy. Mary, who saw Fredrickson for a 10 month period in
1994 and 1995, said “therapist need to distinguish between long standing
childhood abuse memories and recovered memories created in therapy.”
The malpractice lawsuit was settled for $175,000 with Fredrickson
denying any wrongdoing. In May, 1999, Renee Fredrickson had her
license severely restricted by the Minnesota Board of Psychology. She is no
longer allowed to do therapy involving ritual abuse, alleged satanic cults or
problems of similar nature. In addition, she must undergo a psychological
evaluation to see if she is mentally fit to practice. Other sanctions include
mandatory classes on personal boundaries, classes in record-keeping and
additional remedies as deemed fit. Pretty serious stuff for someone who is
already supposed to be a professional, in fact, an expert.
In her book The Sexual Healing Journey: A guide for Survivors of
Sexual Abuse, Wendy Maltz advises readers, "Spend time imagining that you
were sexually abused, without worry about accuracy, proving anything or
having your ideas make sense. As you give rein to your imagination, let
your intuition guide your thoughts... Ask yourself or have a support person
or therapist ask you these questions, 'What time of day is it? Were are you?
Indoors or outdoors? What kind of things are happening? Is there one or
more person with you? Male or female? What types of touch are you
experiencing? What parts of your body is involved? What do you see, feel or
hear? How do you feel emotionally? Angry, scared, excited, confused... Who
would have been the likely perpetrators? When were you most vulnerable to
sexual abuse in your life? Why would it have been important for you to
forget what happened." (This is a classic example of the kind of therapy
that produces false memories.)
There are many techniques that RMT Therapist use to produce the
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false memories. One of those techniques is hypnosis. Hypnosis can be

extremely helpful in therapy, but it can also be abused. Some therapist gives
the impression that one cannot lie while in the hypnotic state. Of course
that is an untrue assumption for hypnosis does not prevent a person from
intentional or unintentional lying, deception or experiencing false memories.
There is a case history by Dolores Spiegel and Charles Romig which
was published in the American Journal of Family Therapy that is a good
illustration of implanting of false memories. Sue entered therapy because
she was afraid that her fiance would break off their engagement. She also
reported fears of the dark and had difficulty sleeping alone. She told the
therapist of dreams of being in her crib as a child and someone tickling her.
In the course of the session, she mentioned that she sometimes felt anger
toward her father but also insisted that she had a "fine and loving
relationship with him." The information received at that first session lead the
therapist to believe that Sue had been sexual abused as a child and that her
father was the likely abuser. (Durbin: Any of these situations could be
present with no sexual abuse. How many parents and others tickle their
babies? How many people have felt anger toward one of both parents and
still felt loved by those parents? Most people, I would suspect.)
Because Sue continued to deny that she had been sexually abused by
her father, the therapist decided to use an indirect approach. While Sue
was in a hypnotic trance, the therapist told this story. "There was a small
kingdom with a powerful but friendly king who was well liked by his
subjects. He was very pleasant and was willing to meet with almost anyone
to talk about anything. He had a family of two sons and a daughter... It
was a happy kingdom, but something uneasy was going on in the castle.
Like most kings, this king had a wizard, who was very wise and powerful.
The wizard was very loyal to the king, which was important because the
wizard had a powerful secret word that would remove all the king's ability
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to rule if the wizard ever spoke it. If the word were ever said, the king
would not only lose his crown, but his family would probably stop respecting
and loving him, as would the king's subjects. Only the king and the wizard
knew about the magic word. Since the king loved the wizard and needed
the wisdom and power of the wizard and since the wizard was very loyal to
the king, the king never feared that the wizard would say the magic word.
They lived happily until one day the wizard wanted to visit other kingdoms
to learn more and become a better wizard. This frightened the king because
the king was afraid the wizard might meet someone and want to marry.
The king was afraid the wizard would change loyalties to someone else and
someday might say the magic word. The king and wizard had many
arguments about this and finally the king told the wizard to leave and
return only when the king gave permission. The king even convinced himself
that he had enough power to overcome the power of the wizard's secret
word. Bitter words were exchanged and the entire family felt much sadness
as the wizard left, for you see, the wizard was the king's own daughter."
At the end of the session, Sue was greatly upset. At the next session,
she expressed a belief that her father might have sexually abused her while
she was a child. What was Spiegel and Romig's analysis of these sessions.
"The story gave her the option of choosing how to respond to her own
experiences, which paralleled those of the fictional characters of the story.
She choose to stop denying her victimization and approach her abuse
directly, thereby setting the stage for therapy to began." Because the father
became upset at the daughters plan to leave home and his fear of the "magic
word" which was of course “incest”, it is most likely that false memories
were implanted by the therapist with the use of this story!
I believe that a therapist can plant seeds of abuse in the subconscious
and thereby lead a client to believe and become convinced that sexual abuse
actually happened. Unfortunately, it is a fact that under hypnosis (formal
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or informal) people can confabulate or create memories. These people are

often unable to distinguish between memories created in the hypnotic state
and true memories of the past. While attending a meeting of incest
survivors in a San Francisco Church, Stephanie Slater tells of one young
woman who said that she remembered her mother using scissors to mutilate
her genitalia. As she wept, she concluded her talk with, "I know I should
have scars from it but I don't"
Used in the hypnotic context, suggestions are the acceptance of an
idea or belief to the point of causing changes in an individual's actions, body
responses, attitudes, emotions or characteristics. To show how a suggestion
can be used to produce a desired outcome have someone read the following
exercise to you with your eyes closed and use your imagination. I am going
to ask you three questions and notice your responses. “What do you see?”
Now let that though go and the question. "Do you see a bird?" Now let that
though go and respond to this question, "Do you see the bird?" Let that
thought go and open your eyes. What was your experience as a response
with the first question? What was your response to the second question.
What was your response to the third question? What was the difference
between the three questions. The first question, “What do you see?” allows
you to see what you see. The second , “Do you see a bird.” lets you
determine if a bird is there to be seen. The third presupposes a bird, "Do
you see the bird?" That question suggest that a bird is to be seen. But
truthfully, both the second and third brings to mind a bird and both
statements can implant a false memory. A RMT therapist may ask, "Do
you see a penis?" or "Do you see the penis?" both questions are very
suggestive that there is a penis to be seen.
Another technique for the RMT therapist is the use of guided imagery.
Mark Pendergrast in his book Victims of Memory wrote of a recovered
memory patient who told this story. “My Therapist made me visualize a
 416

safe place. She'd talked to me through a guided imagery with this really
soothing voice, ‘Now just imagine that you're this little girl in the white
sweater. Imagine you're a helpless, vulnerable, defenseless little girl.’ I told
her how I used to go to a day care center and lie under the piano, staring
up at it. So she took me back to the scene. I was totally seeing all of this as
she said it. ‘Are you scared?' She asked and I found that I was. 'Do you see
somebody?' I saw this piano repair man. 'Does he come and sit by you?'"
"And then suddenly I visualized him lying on top of me. Tricia was
really silent at this point, letting me live this scene. I imagined this man
taking off my pants and sweater and totally licking me and kissing me from
my crotch to my neckline." Though the patient had said nothing, the
therapist asked, ‘is he hurting you?’ ‘Yes, yes,’ I whispered. Then I opened
my eyes and screamed, ‘Stop, stop! I want out of this.’ Tricia was calm,
really calm and she was smiling. I grabbed my stuff. I was hyper
ventilating. She said, 'If you need to stay here a minute and settle down,
that's fine. But I have another client coming.' As I walked out the door, she
said, 'You're probably going to feel self-destructive, because flashbacks are
really hard. So call me at any time. (Durbin, The therapist gave the client a
suggestion for a flashback which is totally irresponsible and unethical.)
Some RMT therapist use sodium amytal commonly called "truth
serum" which can produce hallucinations that can seem as real as a true
experience. People given sodium amytal have given details of their history
such as events, places, names and dates that were not true. As with
hypnosis, the individual is more susceptible to suggestions while under the
influence of sodium amytal Patients under the influence of sodium amytal
fail to reliably discriminate between reality and fantasy.
The use of dreams to uncover false memories is not uncommon among
Recovered Memory Therapist. To me it is not surprising that ideas,
thoughts, readings; that a person deals with all day long can show up in
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some form during a dream.

RMT therapists use automatic writing or journal writing to help their
clients recover memories. The client is encouraged to just began to write
down anything that comes to mind without concern for sentence structure.
While the client thinks of incest, she is to write down anything that comes
to mind while she thinks of incest. Another use of automatic writing is to
just write down a story of incest concerning the client without concern for it
being real or imagined. The client is to write the story as quickly as possible.
Fredrickson states "The unconscious can be relied on to select traumatic
incidents from your past for most or all of the 'story' since it is easier to rely
on experience rather than imagination when you do something quickly." The
use of these techniques suggest that memories are there and they are just
waiting for the right time to come up, but are they true or false?
Fredrickson also recommends the use of art therapy. Art therapy
assesses two types of unconscious memory which are acting-out memory
(forgotten memories spontaneously and physically enacted) and imagery
memory (memory that appears in the conscious mind as images). It is
believed that with art work the client can trigger the recovery of repressed
memories, but are they true or false?
Body memories are described as memories which are retained in body
cells as well as in the brain. During the years before language is fully
developed in an individual, memories are stored in the body's cells. RMT
therapist believe that physical and emotional problems of adulthood can be
the results of the body's memories of childhood sexual abuse. As with
symptoms, dreams and art work, the notion of the bodies memories
becomes a means of indoctrination into recovered memories.
A client is often told to join a survivors therapy group so that she can
realize that she is not alone and that can receive help from the group. A
therapy group for people who have always remembered their abuse can be
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beneficial if the group is there to help each other deal with present life
situations. For individuals without memories of sexual abuse, these groups
are deceptive, dangerous and another means of implanting memories. In
many recovered memory groups, the members try to out do the other in
their descriptions of abuse and they encourage those who have no memories
to get out of denial and remember.
There is a concerted effort to make the patient experience the
emotional pain of rape, sexual abuse and other horrible experiences through
abreaction. They have the client relive the supposed abuse and thereby
release its power. (Most hypnotherapist use abreaction as a releasing
technique, but most of the time the therapist has the patient distant
themselves from the pain and view the experience from a safe place or as if
it were on a TV screen.) RMT therapist persuades their clients to literally
feel the pain of the rape and torture and the humiliation of their supposed
experiences.
In their book Making Monsters, Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters
state, "Therapists sometimes induce these abreaction weekly over years of
therapy. In describing the intense torment they subject their patients to,
therapists often portray themselves as if they were heroic doctors who could
save their patients' lives only by performing amputations without
anesthesia." The authors continue, "Although we don't suggest that these
recovered memory therapist take sexual pleasure from these abuse
'recreations,' some recovered memory therapist perhaps deserve recognition
as a new class of sexual predator."
The client is encourage to have a confrontation with their abuser or
abusers This is usually done in the therapist office with strict guidelines. The
client generals reads from a prepared script. They lists a variety of
accusations such as "you molested me when I was six months old, you raped
me when I was four until I was seventeen. Mother you let it happen. You did
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nothing to stop him and in fact you assisted him and molested me also."
The parents are not allowed to challenge the accuser and if they say
that the abuse never occurred, they are accused of being in denial.
Sometimes the accusations are made over the telephone or in a letter with
similar letters written to other family members and friends. During these
confrontations there is usually a demand for the parents to pay for therapy
and additional sums of money for the pain they caused the survivor. If they
don't get what they want from the confrontation, they quite often sue and
most of the so-called survivors books encourage them to do so.
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., whose husband was accused of the abuse by their
adult daughter, Jennifer, is the Executive Director of the FMS Foundation.
The Foundation's Scientific and Professional Advisory Board is composed of
prominent researchers and clinicians from the field of psychiatry,
psychology, social work, and education. The Foundation provides
information on memory and therapy practices. It advises and is a sounding
board for accused parents. It acts as a clearing house for information, puts
families in touch with resources which enables them to better cope with their
situation, built a library used by scholars, attorneys, families, and the media,
and produces a very good and informative Newsletter that keep thousands
informed on issues of interest to therapist, families and others. (FMS
Foundation information and newsletters can be accessed at the Foundation
website. http://www.fmsfonline.org/)
About 20% of adults who remembered childhood sexual abuse while
undergoing RMT eventually recalled being victims of satanic ritual abuse
(SRA). Much of the current beliefs about satanic ritual abuse and multiple
personality disorder (MPD) goes back to two books: Sybil, and Michelle
Remembers. The most influential of the two on MPD is Sybil by F. Schreiber
and on sexual ritual abuse was Michelle Remembers by Dr. L. Pazder and M.
Smith. SRA survivors have similar memories of abuse. They remember evil,
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robe-covered adults, candles, knives, altars, countless horror stories of being

breeders, having to kill their babies and eat the babies, of being put in graves
with snakes and spiders and other such experiences.
You may ask, "Why would anyone believe such painful and horrible
experiences as incest if it did not really happen?" Some reasons for believing
are:
1. The Therapist is the authority and the client is told her that childhood
sexual abuse is the cause of her problems.
2. Recovered memories of sexual abuse give the client a reason for her
problems.
3. Because doubting is considered proof of "denial" and resistance to getting
well.
4. Because focusing on the abuse gives her a reason for her experience of
parental neglect and emotional abandonment.
5. The recovered memory provides a compelling and guilt-free reason for
separating from one's family.
6. It is less painful to blame others than to examine one's own personal
feelings and work through the problems to a more meaningful life.
7. While using hypnosis, guided imagery and other techniques; the therapist
implants false memories of sexual abuse into the mind of the client which
seems real.
The RMT Movement has many cult-like qualities. Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary definition of cult is a group with a "devoted or
extreme attachment to or extravagant admiration for a thing or ideal,
especially as manifested by a body of admirers." Generally, cults claim to be
the only way to God, Nirvana, Paradise, healing, and such.
Some characteristics of a cult are:
1. Their leader’s may claim a special revelation. The therapist is the leader
and develops a situation where the client depends upon them for salvation.
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2. They believe that they have the whole truth. Everyone is a victim and
needs to recover the memories of abuse in order to be whole.
3. They use intimidation or psychological manipulation to keep members
loyal to their truth. If one says she experienced no childhood sexual abuse,
she is said to be in denial.
4. Members will be expected to give substantial support. The cost of therapy
is high and can go on for years.
5. There is great emphasis on loyalty to the group and its teachings. The
client must accept the diagnosis of the leader and discover the repressed
memories of abuse.
6. Members are encouraged give up their natural families for the family of
the cult. The survivors group is to take the place of the family of origin and
the family of origin must be denounced.
7. Members will look to their leaders for guidance in everything they do.
During treatment the client becomes overly dependent on their therapist.
8. Any questioning of the group's teaching is discouraged. If client suggest
that she has no sexual abuse history, the group ridicules her and insist that
she is in denial.
9. Attempts to leave may be met with threats. The client is told that she
can never heal until she has dealt with her abuse and can make it on her
own.
Some guidelines for therapist:
1. If the therapist is going to bring up the possibility of sexual abuse, it
should be part of the patient history intake information and should be one
question among many. The question may be "Were you sexually abused as a
child?" If the answer to that question is "No." accept the answer.
2. Do not diagnosis sexual abuse based on the client's symptoms.
3. A therapist should not assume that sexual abuse has occurred because a
person has periods from her past that she can not remember.
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4. Be aware of how you word questions or suggestions so that you do not

lead a person to have false memories.
5. Be aware that because of books, TV/radio programs, magazines articles
and newspaper articles that false memories may have already been planted
before the client comes to you.
6. Understand that memory can be distorted even when the person is in a
hypnotic state.
7. Work toward coping with life in the here and now rather than focusing
on the past especially with repeated emotional reliving of painful experiences
whether real or false.
8. Do not put a client without clear and detailed memories of abuse into a
survivors therapy group and then only if the group deals with adjusting to
the world in the here and now.
9. Do not advise a client to read The Courage to Heal or any other book
written by a so-called survivor.
10. Be careful when using progressive relaxation, suggestions, guided
imagery, hypnosis, or other hypnotic like states that you do not give leading
suggestions of abuse.
11. Be certain that you are not meeting some sexual need of your own by
helping your client come to share with you sexual abuse whether real or
false.
12. If you were sexually abused as a child, do not assume that everyone else
was abused also.
13. Question your motives before you suggest that a client confront and
separate from her natural family.
14. Do no harm.
Continue to use hypnosis, guided imagery, relaxation and other
techniques to help others come to terms with life and thus live a better life,
but beware of false memories.
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BOOKS ON FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME AND RECOVERED MEMORIES:

Baker, R. A. Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions From Within. Buffalo, NY:
Prometheus Books. 1992
Bass, E. and Davis, L. The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of
Child Sexual Abuse. 3rd ed. New York: Harper Perennial. 1994
Blume, E. S. Secret Survivors: Uncovering Incest and Its Aftereffects in
Women. New York: Ballantine. 1990
Bradshaw, J. Family Secrets: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You. New
York: Bantam. 1995
Davis, Laura. Courage to Heal Workbook. NY: Harper Row. 1990
Dawes, R. M. House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth.
New York: Free Press. 1994
False Memory Syndrome Newsletter; False Memory Syndrome Foundation,
FMS Foundation 1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766
Fredrickson, R. Repressed Memories: A Journey to Recovery from Sexual
Abuse. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1992
Goldstein, E. and Farmer, K. True Stories of False Memories. Boca Raton, FL:
SIRS. 1993
Goldstein, E., with Farmer, K. Confabulations: Creating False Memories,
Destroying Families. Boca Raton, FL: SIRS. 1992
Gondolf, L. P. "Traumatic Therapy". Issues in Child Abuse Accusations. 4,
239-245. 1992
Hansen, J. “The False Memory Syndrome: How it’s affecting the Use of
Hypnosis" NGH Convection Manual, Merrimack, NH. 1994. “What Is The
False Memory Controversy?" NGH Convection Manual, Merrimack, NH.
1995, "Hypnosis - Controversial Again" NGH Convection Manual,
Merrimack, NH.1996,
Herman, J. L. Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books. 1992
Herman, J. L. Father-daughter Incest. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press.
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1981
"Hypnosis and Delayed Recall: Part 1" (Vol xlii # 4) The International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Periodicals Press. Oct 1994
"Hypnosis and Delayed Recall: Part 2" (Vol xliii # 4) The International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Periodicals Press. April 1995
Loftus, E. and Ketcham, K The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories
and Allegations of Sexual Abuse. New York: St. Martin's. 1994
Loftus, E. and Ketcham, K. Witness for the Defense: The Accused, the
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 425

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CONCLUSION:
For those people who oppose hypnosis on religious grounds, I remind
them of the words of Jon Baptist Van Helmont, "Hypnosis is a universal
agent,...and it is a paradox only to those who are disposed to ridicule
everything and who ascribe to the influence of Satan all those phenomena
which they cannot explain. (Pratt, Wood, Almon, A Clinical Hypnosis
Primer, p9) Hypnosis is a valuable tool to help people improve their lives
and is therefore blessed by God. By using Human Trinity Hypnotherapy, the
physical, emotional and spiritual are hi-lighted to help people improve their
lives.
If you listen to the broadcast of a baseball, football, or basketball
game, you have surely heard the announcer say, "It's a brand new ball
game." If you are a sports fan, you know the announcer means that the
score has been tied. It is like starting over again. The past is still there, but
we can begin again where we are. In a baseball game, if a team ties the
score in the sixth inning, they do not go back to the first inning to start
over again for they keep playing from where they are. So it is with life, we
begin where we are. With hopeful expectation and new faith comes a
"brand new ball game."
Zephaniah writing to the Jewish people in exile wrote, "Shout for joy,
O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all
your heart O daughter of Jerusalem" (Zeph. 3:14 NAS) Even in exile,
Zephaniah called upon the people to celebrate. They could begin to celebrate
that which they hoped for but which had not yet taken place. We can
 426

visualize that which we hope for as if it were already a reality and by so

doing, we give our subconscious mind a model to work toward. Change your
attitude and you change your life. Through faith, hypnosis, prayer and
hopeful expectation, we can live the more abundant life which God wants for
each of us.
Though hypnosis is not a magic cure for all our problems, it can be a
powerful tool to assist us in our individual lives. For those of us who are
pastors, counselors, doctors; hypnosis can be used to help those who come to
us for counseling. If we can progress beyond the misconceptions and begin
to use hypnosis appropriately we will see improvement in our life styles and
in those we counsel. For those counselors who do not use hypnosis, I hope
this book motivates you to study hypnosis and when appropriate use it for
the benefit of those who come to you for counseling.
Through the proper use of hypnosis: we can give up and let go of
depressing thoughts of the past so that they no longer control our life today.
We can give up and let go of beliefs that limit us and hold us in bondage.
Whether you call it hypnosis, suggestive therapy, relaxation therapy,
guided imagery, or visualization, we all have the God given ability to use our
subconscious mind to live the abundant life. We can help others to free
themselves from the bondage and captivity of pain, unwanted habits, and
unhealthy stress through hypnotherapy. Jesus said that He came that we
might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Hypnosis
combining body, mind, and spirit with faith helps one to a more abundant
life.
I conclude this book with one of my favorite healing story. EAGLES
AND CHICKENS WITH TWO ENDINGS: (which you choose is your choice)
A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen.
The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chickens did, thinking he
 427

was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He
clucked and cackled. He 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 and said, "What's that?" His neighbor
answered, "That's the eagle, the king of birds. He belongs to the sky. We
belong to earth - we are the chickens." So an eagle lived and died a chicken,
for that's what he thought he was.
(Second ending)
The eagle looked up in awe and said, "What's that?" His neighbor
answered, "That's the eagle, the king of birds. He belongs to the sky. We
belong to earth - we are the chickens." The eagle went through the day
thinking of the eagle flying high. The next day the eagle went down to the
pond and saw his reflection. 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 and so can
you.
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