One of the challenges of being a hypnotist is found in movies. And novels. And TV shows. And comic books. And fireside stories. And "FOAF" (a "Friend of a Friend" told someone) tales. And the internet. And in hypnosis stage shows for entertainmnet. They all seem to have a powerful hypnotist making people do things against their wills. Old advertising image of a hypnotist directing group of people in things that appear to be against their wills. One man is wearing women's clothing and a feathered hat. Another man is using a cane but thinking it is a fishing pole. The man in the back is driving another man like a horse and carriage. Made by the Donaldson Lithographic Co. of

Jason Miller, using the name Inominandum, has a great blog called Strategic Sorcery. If you’re not reading it, you might want to check it out. In a recent post, Alternatives to Will Power, he talks about how he is “a big believer in willpower…the ability to make yourself do things that you know you should, in the moment that you least want to." "I believe strongly in the cultivation of willpower and discipline," he writes. "Unfortunately, it is easy to talk about willpower and less easy to exercise it.” I certainly agree strongly with him on this. He goes on to justly criticize those who tell people to just use their willpower to achieve goals. Of course, we all know that

Mystics talk about it all the time. Some doctors are getting wise to the idea. Simply put, there is an incredibly strong link between he functioning of the mind and the physical body. But some people demand proof. For those I would direct your attention to the April 6, 2011, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. There you'll find an article written by six researchers entitled "Brain Mechanisms Supporting the Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation." If you don't want to pay $30.00(!) just to read the article and if the abstract isn't enough, you can go to this article by Anne Harding which explains the paper. To put it briefly, some subjects were given a pain to experience. Next,

This is a special notice for all of my friends in the Southern California Area. Starting this Friday, March 25, I am teaching a certification course in hypnosis. This is not a typical metaphysical class where you spend a couple of hours. This is a full training, involving 60 hours of in-class work and 40 hours of homework. Students will learn several different hypnotic inductions and practice them with other students. More importantly, you'll learn what to do before the induction and how to give suggestions after people are hypnotized. This is the most complete training ever offered to the metaphysical community in Los Angeles. I realize that people in our community have been hit