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By Connie Brannan, CHt.
\nMindworks Hypnosis & NLP<\/p>\n
When many people first contact me, they have a fuzzy idea of what hypnosis is. They\u2019ve seen Hollywood movies. They\u2019ve watched stage shows. They\u2019ve heard the myths: barking like dogs, clucking like chickens, losing control.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not hypnosis.
\nThat\u2019s Hollywood \u2014 or as I like to call it, \u201cHollyweird.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about what hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming really are \u2014 and why they are incredibly powerful tools for change.<\/p>\n
Your conscious mind is your thinking mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d
\n\u201cWhere am I going?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s happening next?\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s your analytical, decision-making mind.<\/p>\n
When you are alert and thinking, your brain waves are fast and active. But when you relax \u2014 perhaps listening to music or winding down at the end of the day \u2014 those brain waves begin to slow. You soften. You shift.<\/p>\n
Eventually, as you drift toward sleep, you pass through a relaxed, focused state.<\/p>\n
That state?
\nThat\u2019s hypnosis.<\/p>\n
You move through hypnosis at least twice a day \u2014 once as you fall asleep and once as you wake up.<\/p>\n
No swinging watch required.<\/p>\n
Have you ever had this happen?<\/p>\n
You\u2019re thinking about something \u2014 turning it over and over in your mind. You can\u2019t quite solve it. You go to sleep. You forget about it.<\/p>\n
Then you wake up.<\/p>\n
Boom.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a solution sitting there like a little mint on your pillow.<\/p>\n
Suddenly you know what to do. You have clarity. Direction. Insight.<\/p>\n
Where did that come from?<\/p>\n
Your unconscious mind was working on it. And you accessed it by passing through a different state of awareness.<\/p>\n
Hypnosis allows you to access that problem-solving, pattern-changing part of your mind deliberately.<\/p>\n
If we could simply think our way out of problems, there would be no smokers. No phobias. No compulsive habits. No emotional eating.<\/p>\n
I had a spider phobia for 30 years.<\/p>\n
Spider = panic.
\nSpider = fear.<\/p>\n
And I knew it was silly.<\/p>\n
Guess what? Knowing that didn\u2019t change it.<\/p>\n
Hypnosis did.<\/p>\n
Now the pattern running in me is:<\/p>\n
Spider = calm.
\nSpider = clear-minded.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a more useful state of mind.<\/p>\n
Hypnosis helps install useful patterns.<\/p>\n
It is not sleep \u2014 not snoring, drooling, unconscious sleep.<\/p>\n
Hypnosis is a state of focused attention where a different part of your mind becomes active.<\/p>\n
I tailor my explanations for the person in front of me.\u00a0 I was working with a teen-aged athlete, so I used a sports metaphor.<\/p>\n
Imagine your mind as a team.<\/p>\n
The conscious mind is sitting on the bench \u2014 watching, supportive, aware. But it\u2019s not the star player in that moment.<\/p>\n
The unconscious mind? That\u2019s the one on the court \u2014 moving, adapting, dunking, solving, performing.<\/p>\n
To change sports again, all we do in hypnosis is shift who\u2019s at bat.<\/p>\n
The conscious mind steps aside.
\nThe unconscious mind gets to play.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s where meaningful change happens.<\/p>\n
Hypnosis is simply a way to access your own internal resources.<\/p>\n
It allows you to reach the part of you that already knows how to change \u2014 the part that can create calm where there was fear, clarity where there was confusion, and new patterns where old habits once ran the show.<\/p>\n
No barking required.<\/p>\n
Understanding hypnosis is one thing. Experiencing it is another.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re curious about how hypnosis or Neuro-Linguistic Programming could help you release a fear, shift a habit, improve focus, or create meaningful change, I invite you to reach out.<\/p>\n
Sessions are private, collaborative, and tailored specifically to you. Whether change happens in a single breakthrough moment or unfolds gently over time, the goal is the same: empowering you to access the part of your mind that already knows how to move forward.<\/p>\n