Some years ago, I was at a party. A man came up and we started talking. What do you do? he asked. I'm a hypnotherapist, I replied. Oh. Well, you can't hypnotize me, he said, as he began scanning party for someone else to talk to. You're absolutely right. I can't hypnotize you. I don't hypnotize anyone. By following my instructions, they actually hypnotize themselves. That got his attention.

That's first thing I tell my clients. All hypnosis is self- hypnosis. If they don't follow my instructions, they won't be hypnotized. And if they try too hard, they won't be hypnotized. It's sort of like falling asleep at night. If you try to will yourself to fall asleep, you'll just wake up even more. Hypnosis is a letting go. Letting go of details of day. Letting go of concerns. Letting your analytical mind let go of its hold on you. Just being in here and now. Some people are afraid of letting go. They think it means that someone else will be in control. I reassure them that they are always in control of process, and that they only go as deeply as they feel safe doing. Generally, a client will drift into a light state first time. The second time I see them, they go deeper because they realize that I'm not going to do anything weird, like make them cluck like a chicken.

In hypnosis, I'm merely a guide. I can lead a client where they want to go, but only if they want to go there. If they're not dedicated to change they want, then I can't help them. I've had smokers come to me and say, I'd really like to want to quit. But I still love smoking cigarettes, even though I know I should quit. Take away craving. I send them on their way and tell them to come see me when they've decided to quit. Hypnosis is a tool that can help them through process of quitting, but it can't make them quit. It's not a magic wand. I can help a client move from point A to point B, but they're one that gets to walk path. Hypnosis can make it infinitely easier. It can make a mountain into a molehill, and make changes happen very quickly. But person has to really want change, and be willing to deal with all of other aspects of that change. For instance, a woman wanting to lose weight decides to reduce her consumption of sweets. After hypnosis, she loses her desire for them, but finds that it was an enjoyable part of meal with her husband. She gets mad at me because I took away enjoyment.

Many people erroneously think that hypnosis is some other dimension of consciousness. It's not. It's a very normal, natural awareness that we're moving in and out of all time. When you're driving down road on autopilot, and your mind drifts off, and all of a sudden you're aware that you've driven past your turnoff. Or when you're at movie theater, and get so involved with action on screen that you're barely aware of rest of people in audience. Or if you're an artist or writer, and when you get so focused on a project that time just speeds by, and outside distractions fade away. These are all examples of state of mind that we call hypnosis. It's just that I know how to help a person reach that level of consciousness deliberately, and know what to do once we get there.

Hypnosis is really just being able to focus on one idea. Back in mid 1800's, Dr. James Braid coined term hypnosis after Hypnos, Greek god of sleep. But after more experience with it, he realized that word hypnosis was inaccurate. Dr. Braid then tried to rename it to mono-ideaism, for one idea. But it was too late. Hypnosis had already caught on, and other really is a mouthful to say.