The Hypnotizer

I like words. I like learning them, hearing them, using them. Words are “my thing” (which is terrific for a hypnotist). And they always have been my thing. Soon, I’ll be “honing.” My skills in hypnosis & NLP.  My tools, my abililty to HELP.  My FUN.  Honing. Sharpening. Making better. I also like dictionary.com. “To make more acute, intense or effective; improve; perfect: to hone one’s skills.” Absolutely!    It also means “To move or advance toward a target or goal.” Hone in.

I’m doing both!

Because here’s what I’m honing towards, here’s what I want. To be the absolute best changeworker and hypnotist/hypnotherapist possible. I already am the best in the Pacific Northwest, but the world’s a big place. I want to be one of the absolute best in the universe. So, I’m continuing my education, and studying with and learning from the best of the best. Modeling genius. It’s time intensive, it’s money intensive, it takes committment. But I’m doing it! Michael and I both!

We’re off for a couple weeks of more hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming trainings. In Orlando, Florida, with the co-originator of NLP, and in my opinion, the best hypnotist living, Dr. Richard Bandler. We go where the geniuses perform/teach and it’s not always nearby. We’re doing it! It’s my joy, my passion, as well as my comittment to honing!  It’s also my birthday present to myself!  (I’m a July baby!) 

Hypnosis is the best present of all!

A committment to excellence.  That’s a good thing!    I’m on Facebook (you can be my friend), and recently noticed an example of a differing attitude.  A fellow hypnotist and NLP-er posted on one of my teachers’ pages whining (or so it appeared to me) that her training certification, the actual certificate she earned from him had an expiration date on it.  Why, she asked.  The answer is simple.  Hypnosis and NLP is not something you learn once, and wham, done.  I guess some people do approach a profession this way.  “I know how to cut that piece of brick.  I’m done.”  Not me.  No way, Jose.  That certificate is only the beginning.

For me, learning is a never-ending unfolding process, and I’m ALWAYS desirous of improving my skills.   One can ALWAYS be better.  Sharper.  More inspired.  In the realm of the mind, there’s no hard and fast, “this is it.”  There are more things to LEARN!  When you bring in native intelligence and a passion for and committment to what you’re doing, and add the continued exposure to excellence, the continued honing (of something absolutely worth honing), you get someone who knows what they’re doing.

I know what I’m doing.  And that means I can help you better, faster, more efficiently, more creatively than other people can.  If you really want change, I certainly think you should seek out the best for that.  Aren’t you worth it? Another wonderful mentor/teacher of mine said to me once:  “It ain’t bragging, if it’s true.”  I’m not bragging.  I am extremely talented at this work, this art, and getting better all the time.

I hope to post here from Orlando and the trainings!   Michael and I send warm (upper 90’s) greetings!

Warm Regards,
Connie

Connie Brannan, CHt. & Licensed Trainer of NLP

Well, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about sequins.  About the girl I saw the other day.  She was a barista, a coffee-maker.  And she was working in a little kiosk-type coffee stand smack dab in the middle of a whole foods market.  Kind of a drab setting.  And she was wearing the most flashy, beautiful, black sequinned sweater.  We’re talkin’ Vegas-style evening-out-on-the-town sequins.  Elegant.  Fancy.  Fun.  And playful.  I looked at her and thought:  She knows how to have fun, how to live and squeeze enjoyment out of life.  Making coffee in sequins is more fun than making coffee in a cotton apron, I’ll bet.  I could see that, in her face and in her movements!

And then, a quick mental morph/segue to my own closet.  I have sequins, too.  Silk jackets and shirts massively decorated and sequinned.  Red with roses and trellises, black with textured clusters.  Royal blue.  I love them!  But I wear them SO RARELY.  Once in a blue moon.  I’m “saving them for special.”  They’re sitting there, gathering dust, as I wait for an “occasion” suitable for them.  Always waiting.  That has been (past tense) one of my limiting beliefs.  “You need a special occasion to justify wearing sequins.”  I just popped it–that belief.  It just hit me.  I could wear one of my sequinned jackets today!  Why not?  I could walk into that hotel, into that seminar room (I’m attending a training this weekend) wearing one of my flashy jackets.  And that would be FUN.

Limiting beliefs.  Those things that hold us back, make us catch our breath and feel LESS, less alive, less powerful, less fun.  The “I can’ts.”  Oh, I can’t do that!  Pop them.  Why not?  What would happen if you could and did do this “I can’t do” thing??  Hmmm?  Think about it.  Imagine beyond the boundaries.  That coffee-girl sure can!  I wonder what unexpected coffee combinations/flavors she comes up with?  I can tell, her life is rich and full-bodied.

Life should be fun.  Massively fun.  And it is.  Make it more so.  What’s holding you back?   How much joy can you stand?  It all comes down to running your own mind, and feeling what you want to feel.  Hypnosis and NLP teach us how to do that.  I’ve decided to feel good today.  I’m wearing my sequins. 

Warm Regards,
Connie

Watch this!  It’s cool.

To me, it’s a very recognizable symbol.  It’s a hypnowheel… of light!  I think it’s a message, that HYPNOSIS WORKS!  And those who saw it live or see it in video form, should get that message deep deep deep into their unconscious.  Yes, very cool!

Michael says:  it’s the universe trying to hypnotize us.    If so, I say:  bring it.  Hypnosis is a positive experience, always.

Warmest regards in these chill times (WINTER),
Connie

I made some different categories of “blog topics” here.  This one is a MUSING!  Not necessarily amusing.  A musing. 

Bellevue College Continuing Education Courses

I offer adult continuing education courses at Bellevue College, and last night was Part I of my “Building Confidence and Self-Esteem Through Self-Hypnosis” course.  Fun stuff!!  Hands on, minds on, very experiential.    We had a great turnout of interested parties (except one, story to follow) and they went deeply into hypnotic trance, several times, and got to experience and learn a LOT in a short amount of time.  What is hypnosis, how does the mind work, what is the conscious mind, what is the unconscious mind, what is the truth vs. the myths of hypnosis, how can we use hypnosis to make personal change, what is a well formed goal…and more!  LOTS of good stuff.

We all made and played with pendulums, learning more about the mind-body connection, and about the best language for communication with the unconscious.   My class is heavy on participatory exercises and demos.  Experiences.  You learn more by experiencing trance, than just hearing it described.  Which provides a better understanding, hearing about the taste of a ripe peach, or eating one, riding a bicycle, or reading about balance?  It was a trance-filled evening.  People were “into” it and loving it, and so was I.  One of my goals in the world is promoting hypnosis and making people aware of it’s power and possibility.  And that seemed to be going well…

However, there was one girl in my class who apparently wasn’t listening. Or, listening, but not believing.  Have you ever seen a little kid sticking their fingers in their ears and chanting:  “I don’t hear you, I don’t hear you, I don’t hear you…”  This girl’s attitude was just like that.  She interrupted the course, deep into the lecture to announce:  “I don’t believe it.  Any of it!  I don’t believe in hypnosis.”  She HAD gone into trance, but was denying the experience to herself.  She was challenging me to “prove it” and “convince her” that “hypnosis is real.”  She announced that she really didn’t want to be there, and was just taking the course for a credit.  Convince her?  No can do.  This isn’t about mind control, this is about sharing cool things I know and offering experiences to those that are open to them.  At that moment in time, she wasn’t open to learning.  Nor was I going to direct my energies to changing her.

I don't hear you!

I KNOW the power of hypnosis and how it has improved my life a thousand-fold.  And I see and experience daily how it’s helping my clients and students to live more fully and enjoyably, and change in ways they want to change, ways that make sense for their lives.  It’s about expanding the realms of human potential and human excellence.  It’s about accellerated learning.  It’s about connection with the deepest and best parts of ourselves.  How do I communicate that to someone with their fingers stuck in their ears?  I can’t.

If you’re here, reading this blog, your ears are open!  Your mind is open!  And I appreciate that!  I appreciate your openness to learn more.  I hope I can be a good representative for this thing called hypnosis.  I’m still learning, as well.  One thing is deep, deep, deeply true.  I love it! 

Warm Regards,
Connie