DebbieDona

Person breaking a cigarette, smiling happily.

Friday Silliness

Written by: Debbie

Whenever I meet someone new and they ask what I “do”, I tell them I am a hypnotist. You can imagine the responses that brings. There are those who are truly interested and ask lots of questions about hypnosis. There are those who dismiss me instantly, for a variety of reasons. Hopefully, my breath is not one of them!

There are those who instantly avert their eyes in fear. As if looking into my eyes had that much power. My goodness, if I were that all powerful, my sons would clean up their bedrooms and the toilet seat would always be down! (Especially in the middle of the night, thank you!) I am asked if I can make a partner change a behavior or habit. No, I cannot make anyone do anything, again if I could, that shoe shrine would exist in my house.

Often a nervous first time visitor to my office will joke and ask if they will leave clucking like a chicken. I very sincerely explain that I charge extra for that. In life, I believe, you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. As a blonde, a hypnotist and a mother of two sons, it is a survival tactic.

So today, I post jokes about hypnosis. I know many of my readers are jokers as well. So I am asking you to share the jokes and reactions with me that you have always wanted to share. I just ask that you keep it clean, my dear Mumsy reads this!

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A woman phoned the hypnotist’s office a week after her husband had visited with her. She was concerned that her husband could not remember anything about his visit. “What did you so to him?”

The hypnotist reassured the woman that temporary memory loss of the session was not abnormal and that they had worked on his sadness, as he had already shared with the wife. “I told him while he was under that he would be better and better every day, better and better every way. It is simple enough and I often use direct, positive suggestions like this. Why?”

The wife responded with, “Did you know he was a slightly deaf?” “Yes,” responded the hypnotist, “that wasn’t his reason for sadness.” The wife then responded, “But it does explain his new problem! Since his visit to your office he has lost a ton of money betting every day in every way!”
~~~~~
OK, not so funny, but a start.
~~~~~~~

A local preacher was dissatisfied with the small amount in the collection plates each Sunday. A hypnotist suggested to him that perhaps he might be able to hypnotize the congregation
into giving more. “And just how would I go about doing that?” he asked.

“It is very simple. First you turn up the air conditioner so that the auditorium is warmer than usual. Then you preach in a monotone. Meanwhile, you dangle a watch on a chain and swing it in a slow arc above the lectern and suggest they put 20 dollars in the collection plate.”

So the very next Sunday, the reverend did as suggested, and lo and behold the plates were full of 20 dollar bills. Now, the preacher did not want to take advantage of this technique each and every Sunday. So therefore, he waited for a couple of weeks and then tried his mass hypnosis again.

Just as the last of the congregation was becoming mesmerized, the chain on the watch broke and the watch hit the lectern with a loud thud and springs and parts flew everywhere.

“CRAP!” exclaimed the pastor.

It took them a week to clean up the church.
~~~~~~~~~
Hey, I’m a hypnotist, not a joke teller.
~~~~~~~~~
Worried about their less than exciting sex life, a young wife sent her husband to a therapist who wound up treating him with self-hypnosis. And, to her joy, everything got much better. However, she could not help but notice that each night, early into their lovemaking, the husband would dash out to the bathroom for several minutes. This tormented her until finally, one night, she followed him. There, in front of the mirror, she found him applying this therapeutic technique: “She’s not my wife… She’s not my wife…She’s not my wife…”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Your turn!

Dear Debbie,

Written by: Debbie

I think I would like to try hypnosis to help me stop biting my nails. I have eaten my nails, chewed them down to the fingers and it is embarrassing. I feel crazy, because I just can’t stop! Will hypnosis help?

First of all, you are not crazy! Neither are you weak or helpless, even though at times it may feel that way. You are simply a person who happens to have a problem with nail biting. Hypnosis is one of the most common reasons a person will visit my office, after weight management and smoke cessation. The fingers are easily available , so it becomes a matter of habit and ease. Mindlessly an individual will place their hands in their mouth and start chewing away.

The nail biter is aware of the dirt and germs on their hands and under any existing nails and the possibilities of infection. They are embarrassed already having to reach out for a hand shake. So, well meaning friends and family aren’t helping by nagging, anymore than nagging will stop a smoker. In fact, it often leads to more of the same behavior.

Biting usually occurs when the biter is in one of two modes, either an automatic, “mindless” state or else when involved in another activity such as watching the television or at the computer. It seems to be an urge, that allows for a sense of relaxation or else it relieves boredom. Either way, through hypnosis you can “unlearn” the habit of nail biting and find healthy ways of handling the triggers (anything that is a stimulus) that set one to biting in the first place.

So, we work on creating a sense of calm that you can re-create anytime you desire. Next, we work on making you aware of when the urge strikes, so that you are conscious of the habit. Finally, we give you alternative activities to do that will give you a sense of calm or relieve boredom, whichever you find yourself feeling at the moment.

Monday Morning Musing….

Written by: Debbie

Last night I had the privilege of attending a birthday party for a friend of mine, who has just turned the corner of another decade. We have been friends for a decade, so this seemed right somehow. When I first met this woman, our sons were taking fencing together. She had just come from a swim and I remember being in awe of her. She appeared to have it so together. She was attractive, regal, maybe just poised. I don’t know what it was, she just seemed to have that “it” quality. Over the years I have become closer to her, although our sons have drifted apart.

This courageous woman has had a remarkable journey to becoming a published author and speaker. Her path is a story that only she can tell and give it true justice. When her book is released at the end of this year, I will be sure to let everyone know.

I digress.

The party was held to honor this friend by another friend of hers. She gathered us together with the instructions that we were to bring our thoughts about the guest of honor in a way that we could share, whether in song, poem, prayer, whatever our inspirations and talents lead us.

I asked each of the invitees to please send me a word that “SHE” seemed to represent in their lives and thoughts. I was given a wonderful list; words such as passionate, joy, brilliant and persistent. From this list I was able to create a hypnotic journey for all of us. For my friend, it was a chance to embrace how others see her and allow those words to become a part of her personal power. For the rest of us, it was a chance to embrace what we love about our friend and imbue that quality until it became our own.

It was interesting to observe the responses. At first the birthday girl had a little difficulty accepting that she could embrace herself, but once she did, she felt profoundly healed. She looked forward to listening again, at home and recalling the love that filled the room for her at the party. For others, it was a chance to become the quality they had admired. There were some who seemed restless, unable to accept. Others, became quiet and still in a peaceful manner.

I had one woman ask me if I was always that quiet. She said she watched me through out the evening and I seemed to be listening so intently and appeared so calm. This made me laugh. Yes, I had spent the evening listening to all of the stories being shared about my friend and by my friend. I had felt the peacefulness of friends just loving one another. I just never thought of myself as quiet! When I asked my husband about her comment, he split a gut laughing. Oh well, I guess for one moment in time, I was the quiet, still one.

It was suggested that I add these personalized audios to my website. Many of the attendees wanted to utilize this idea to honor another person in their life. So, I am considering offering such a product. I wonder if there is enough interest out there to go ahead and do it?

P.S. The hostess of the party is amazingly gracious and her home is so serene. So I just had to add a plug for her website, a virtual spa. Click on: Serenity Pathways and enjoy! Telll her Debbie sent you.

The Transparent Hypnotist Helps Again!

Written by: Debbie

On my Wake Up And Smell The Coffee post I had a great question from Caroline. She posed:

Oh, by the way, does the same thing happen with tea? I am sure you are aware of the English habit of offering a person a cup of tea when they are feeling crappy.

I knew there had to something behind it. I just didn’t know what. So I enlisted the help of my buddy Ellie over at The Transparent Hypnotist. True to form, she sent this information back to me.

Hi Debbie,

Glad you asked about tea. It does indeed help with stress. According to a study by the University College London (2006), black tea helps lower cortisol (the stress hormone) levels that develop during stressful situations. The test group felt the benefits of relaxation much sooner during the recovery time after a stressful situation as well.

Ellie

So there you have it. Thanks Ellie!

Close-up of a peaceful face with closed eyes and long eyelashes.

Friday Silliness

Written by: Debbie

In honor of the great news for coffee lovers that I posted about yesterday, I decided to stay with the coffee theme. One of the blogs that I enjoy visiting is Coffee Tickle. They have posted a great video from Scrubs about coffee addiction. It’s fun to watch. Treat yourself to a moment of enjoyment and stop by to see it.

My son, the one whom I send the Starbucks cards to has told me repeatedly about a show that makes him laugh. The show is Futurama, the episode he loves is one in which the character Fry drinks 100 cups of coffee and it results in time standing still. I believe as a college student my son has dreams of accomplishing the same.

I was unable to paste the code here without covering other important parts of my blog. (Sorry I am so techno blonde!) Therefore instead, for now, here is the link to where I was able to find the video:

Futurama Coffee Episode

Keep smiling!

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

Written by: Debbie

One of the reasons I fell in love with my husband is his great coffee. He makes the best coffee ever. Further more, he serves it to me in the morning, every morning as I am still foggy from the night’s slumber. Before we were married, this marvelous man would sneak into my home on his way to work and fix my coffee, so that I would stumble down to the kitchen and find a fresh brewed cup waiting for me!

I limit myself to one or two cups of coffee, most days. That is a miracle, considering my heritage. You see, my mother always repeated that we were weaned from the breast by cups of coffee. (Remember that our truths are filtered by the words we hear from birth to age 8, so she was setting me up to have a love affair with the seductress coffee.) I believe I have vague memories of my mother wandering the house hooked up to an IV with a coffee drip. (OK, maybe that was just a fantasy my mother often spoke of.) Coffee ice cream was a treat reserved for something special, like living through the day, maybe? Iced coffee was a staple in the summer.

I have passed this legacy on to my first born. Every Monday, I write him a note in a funny card and include something like an article or a comic I thought he would enjoy, a crisp $20 bill or a gift card to Starbucks. His favorite find is the Starbucks card. My youngest son does not have the same love of coffee and I am wondering if maybe he was switched at birth because of that, but I will save that for another day.

Why all this information about coffee, especially in a hypnosis blog? Well, partly because of the power of suggestion. I just read an article pertaining to coffee and current brain research. Also, anything to do with brain research is guaranteed to interest me and I love to share the news. So, here is the scoop:

Studies in the past have shown that drinking coffee can relieve stress as well as reduce depression, but scientist attributed these effects to the caffeine in the coffee, not to the smell. Scientists have found that the mere smell of coffee has an effect on the brain.

Korean researchers conducted experiments with rats to study the effects of coffee’s smell on the brain. Stressed, sleep-deprived rats and rats that were not stressed were exposed to the aroma of coffee. The activity of the brain of these two groups were compared to two other groups of rats. One group was stressed and sleep deprived, the second group was unstressed, neither were exposed to the smell of coffee.

The researchers found that when the rats were exposed to the smell of coffee, thirteen genes in the brain that control anxiety were stimulated at different levels of activity. The result was a reduction in stress of the sleep-deprived rats.

According to the Korean researchers, for the first time, their experiment provides “clues to the potential antioxidant or stress-relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma. These experiments indirectly explain why so many people use coffee for staying up all night. The stress caused by sleep loss via caffeine may be alleviated through smelling the coffee aroma.”

P.S. Honey you now know one of the 180 reasons I listed, only 179 to go!

Colorful human brain cross-section illustration.

Dear Debbie,

Written by: Debbie

Hi Debbie.

Congrats on another satisfied client. Are the tapes the client is referring to subliminal tapes? If not, I’d be curious to know what your “take” is on this type of device?

subliminal: adjective

existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness; being or employing stimuli insufficiently intense to produce a discrete sensation but often being or designed to be intense enough to influence the mental processes or the behavior of the individual: a subliminal stimulus; subliminal advertising.

In 1957, marketing researcher James Vicary reported significant increases in Coke and popcorn sales after flashing directives to “Drink Coke” and “Eat Popcorn” during a movie. Although Vicary never actually published these findings, his reports created a frenzy of consumer concern and government legislation aimed at stopping these forms of seemingly insidious mind control. There was, however, one significant and often unknown problem with Vicary’s study — it was all a hoax. Years later, Vicary himself admitted this scam was simply an attempt to save his dying advertising agency. Efforts to replicate the results of Vicary’s reports have never resulted in success.

The January 1991 issue of the University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter refers to “the complete lack of any scientific evidence that such messages can alter human behavior. Nevertheless, one survey shows that 68 percent of the public believes in subliminal tapes, which are now a $50-million-a-year business.” The article further states, “double blind tests have consistently shown that these products [subliminal tapes] fail to produce their claimed effects.”

Now there are many who today who still tout the use of subliminal(s) in their products, including hypnosis products. If the consumer believes them to be of value, then at some level they are. After all, the placebo effect is a valid part of healing. I, personally do not use them, nor do I recommend them to my clients. If subliminal(s) have any effect on the brain (some research has shown it can be detected with brain scanners) the effect is negated if the brain is busy. Bahador Bahrami, a neuroscientist at University College London, found a way to get around subliminal messages, showing that the brain’s susceptibility to those messages alters as it works harder. “If the brain is busy … it can filter out those subliminal things,” said Dr Bahrami, whose research is published today in Current Science. Well, most often, a client wants to play subliminal audios in the back ground while performing other tasks.

Another question I have is about playing these audios or even mine while you sleep, to help you improve learning, create changes, etc. Hypnosis is not sleep. Therefore, if I allow a client to fall asleep in the office, they are not getting the full benefit of our session. Exceptions are made when I know that a few moments of sleep and then awakening a client will help them better be able to focus. I have clients who have been so relaxed they thought they were asleep, but I knew better, they were simply relaxed, the conscious mnd will wander and drift while the subconscious mind hears everything I say. (I tell my clients I am not that nice, I don’t let you sleep!)

The last brainwave prior to sleep is a hypnotic brainwave, so I don’t object to falling asleep at night to one of my audios. After all, you may be awake longer than you realize and either way, the last words you heard as you drifted off to sleep were words of empowerment! It is just that I want my clients to understand, once you are asleep, the benefits of what I am saying are lost until another time.

My husbands jokes that people around the world sleep with his wife at night, but he knows where she is. The truth is, many people have bought audios from me to help them with a variety of issues and yes, they may fall asleep to them. In fact, my sleeping audios encourage that! The real work is done just before that final moment of wakefulness, as you go deep, deep into a pleasant, restful sleep.

Man sitting on rock, wearing casual clothes.

Monday Morning Musing….

Written by: Debbie

Our words have power. The way we phrase things can make a big difference in our outcomes. Einstein said, “the formulation of the question is far more important than the answer”. Recently, I have noticed on several occasions people using their words in ways that will sabotage their attempts at reaching a particular goal. For instance, with weight management. We refer to weight loss, so often. Ads read, “Lose weight now!” or we may say, “I need to lose 5 pounds.”

Think about loss in your life. Loss of a job, a loved one or even simply losing your glasses. When you lose something, you mourn that loss. Next, you look to replace it. It is human nature to want to regain. So, when we lose weight, at some level, we often mourn that loss. We eat to fill that void and the weight returns. In fact, often we double the weight, after all, just like losing glasses, we don’t want to go through that again, (I have several pairs of reading glasses kept in every possible location, to avoid being without.) Maybe this will explain the yo-yo dieting that so many people go through.

Perhaps what we want to do is to begin looking at our weight as part of our lifestyle. If we can move easier and feel better, how much better would that be? Take a moment and imagine yourself healthy, lean and strong. What would that look like for you? How would you feel? Can you imagine moving freely, with increased energy? Begin to shed excess and release the weight.

According to Jung, what we resist will persist. So, if we have not first embraced our excess weight, how can we release it? It is important to face our shadows in order to release them. If you take a moment and embrace your body and think about how it got into the condition it is in you may find it easier to shed extra pounds of fat. Think of the times you ate to console yourself, rather than examine the emotions you were feeling. Or did you fill your spare time with eating, rather than other life experiences?

Take a moment of quiet to examine where you are in this moment. Where do you want to be? What might have contributed to how you arrived where you are and what is a possible path to getting to where you desire to be? Embrace the lessons you have learned on this journey and begin to create positive thoughts about yourself that coordinate with those goals. Give your mind and your body the opportunity to work together towards living fully.

Imagine life the way you desire, embrace those lessons, release those old negative beliefs and become your authentic self today!

Delicious cupcakes topped with creamy frosting and crumbled nuts.

Friday Silliness

Written by: Debbie

The Law Of Attraction is pretty much discussed everywhere. The movie “The Secret” has been out for quite a while now as well as the book and now other assorted complimentary items. I have taught about attracting what you want in life for a long while now, in many different forms. I believe that what you focus on is important. I have seen evidence that our bodies respond to our thoughts, illnesses are created by the stresses we carry around.

All of that being said, I draw the line when someone wants to implicate the victim of a natural disaster or some such similar occurrence. Unfortunately bad things do happen to good people. Call it a life lesson or simply state that life isn’t fair, it is a truism we all must accept. Therefore, when a colleague of mine sent this link, I knew I had to share it. It is to the Guru You University. There is a movie on this page called SHHHHH! We learn that it is by knowing our SHHHH! we use the magic of SHHHH! to change our lives. We all have bad SHHHH!, we can change it to good SHHHH!

So click on this link, watch the movie and step into SHHHH!

Dear Debbie,

Written by: Debbie

My wife is stressed and has lost her happiness. She is always upset and I have to hide it from the kids. Can you help her?

My first question would be does your wife know you are calling me? Is this help she wants or you want for her?

I often have well meaning friends and family call or write me wanting help for a loved one. “I want my Dad to quit smoking or my wife wants to lose a few pounds.” While it is great to be supportive of a loved ones goals for positive change, allow those changes to be the desires of the loved one.

Now, when a spouse asks me about the others emotional side, I want to know why that individual is not placing the call. It is important that I spend a few moments speaking privately with the person who will be receiving the help. I have also found it helpful to interview the one who places the call in private as well. In the case of the individual who wrote the above note, he was feeling overwhelmed and trapped by his wife’s emotional state. He was doing his best to remain strong and solid, but, he had sacrificed any time for himself in the process. He was becoming controlling, because he felt his life was so out of control.

I worked with the wife on her concerns, we did some regression work to allow her to see her strengths and to experience feeling safe in those situations that had sparked this emotional state. We also used Neuro-linguistic programming, allowing her to change her thoughts from those of doom and gloom to learning the lessons in her past without feeling the emotion. We carried her forward into future possible situations where she could apply those lessons and avoid the pitfalls. We worked on recalling thoughts that made her laugh and her husband was astonished when he heard her laughing later, it had been two years!

I worked with the husband on stress relief and we created a plan of action for him. Found ways he could get back to his favorite activity, body building. How great for him to get away from the stresses and release endorphins back into his system as well. There is more work to be done with this couple, but now their future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades!

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