Smoking Cessation, No Butts About It
Smoking cessation. I don’t talk about it much, but it, along with weight loss, is one of the two subjects most associated with Hypnotherapy by the general public. A lot of hypnotherapists, myself included, consider it hypnotherapy 101, something you can advertise to build a clientele but something you generally drift away from as more diverse cases come your way. (And I have.)
I had a conversation with an old client the other day and it really made me take a look at my attitude on the subject. While Stop Smoking programs are relatively simple exercises, they are programs that profoundly change the lives of the clients.
The behavior of smoking is almost tailor made to be dealt with by hypnosis. The actually physical addiction, while very strong, is actually very short lived. Most of the physical withdrawal is over in a week or less. Amazingly, nicotine is not the worst culprit with cigarettes. It’s all the other chemicals that have been added specifically to add “punch” to the nicotine hit and cause the psychological addiction. Case in point, you almost never, and I have never, seen a client with an addiction to nicotine patches or gum. So the vast majority of the addiction is not physical. It has to do with the client’s mental associations to smoking, their feelings about it and how it applies to them. It is therefore able to be dealt with efficiently with hypnosis.
So, smoking is mostly a learned behavior and smoking cigarettes is literally one of the worst “lose-lose” behaviors a person can have. Smokers may believe that it: calms them down, suppresses their appetite or just makes them look cool, but it actually does none of those things. It is a stimulant that, instead of calming them down, actually “jacks them up.” It only seems to suppress appetite because it deadens the taste buds, suppresses the sense of smell and generally makes food taste crappy. It doesn’t look cool; it looks nasty and smells even worse. And of course it has the pesky little issue of causing SLOW PAINFUL DEATH. This makes smoking cessation one of the more profound programs a hypnotherapist can do. Instead of helping cancer patients with pain and the nausea of chemo, wouldn’t it be better to stop the cancer from happening in the first place?
With that in mind and with the RelaxNow program up and running, I have started taking Stop Smoking clients for the first time in many years. Since my schedule only allows for a few individual clients, I’ve also started putting my mind to creating a recorded program to take it past what can be done one on one. I’ll post more as things develop.
New programs from RelaxNow
Very excited. RelaxNow will be an exhibitor at the FEAT DFW Autism Conference February 4th & 5th. We will be premiering our new RelaxNow for Older Children and RelaxNow Atmospheres programs at this event.
Hypnosis and Autism, a new project
As so often happens, the greatest of projects can start from the smallest of things; a chance meeting or in this case a random bit of dinner conversation. Over the Christmas holidays, my wife and I were having dinner with a couple we have known for close to 20 years. The wife, Sheila S., runs a school for children on the autism spectrum. She is also a well-respected consultant to both the parents of autistic children and to their teachers. During the course of the evening the talk turned to “her kids.” She mentioned that she had started doing something she called “Relaxation Time.” She would have the kids lie down and she would quietly tell them to “let your feet go to sleep, your legs, etc.” Those of you already involved with hypnosis will recognize as I did that she was unknowingly doing a basic fractional relaxation hypnotic induction. I was instantly hooked, and I asked if I could observe one day and she agreed.
While watching Sheila go through her Relaxation Time routine with the kids I observed that some of the kids were truly drifting into a very light trance state. I immediately saw the potential to do some good here if I could devise a way of developing a deeper trance state in children whose sensory perceptions and mental processes can be profoundly different from my own.
After much consideration I settled on a combination of an abbreviated traditional hypnosis induction and my Audio-Homeopathy techniques along with with subliminal reinforcements (to avoid over stimulation). I also needed to determine what would be best to use as a first hypnotic suggestion. I began to observe the classes on an ongoing basis and saw the first and foremost need these children had, at least in this environment, was energy management. The minds of these kids can sometime be overwhelmed by situations and sensory inputs that a person not on the spectrum might easily miss or ignore. I soon had a test program recorded and we began our first trials.
The first suggestion/tool I choose for this program was a relaxation trigger that the child could use on themselves or have an authority figure such as a parent or teacher use for them. I chose the words “Relax Now” as the trigger with the suggestion that: when the child says out loud or silently “Relax Now” he instantly relaxes “to an appropriate level.” Appropriate level is a key point. This suggestion is not an on/off switch to be “flipped.” It’s more like a throttle that the child can use to rein in his or her response to mental or physical overstimulation.
Right from the very first day the results were promising. About an hour after going through the Relaxation Time program, one of the students began to become agitated. Sheila S. used the Relax Now trigger and there was a small, but noticeable de-escalation. I honestly did not expect to see any results until the children had been through the program several times and was very pleased and more than a little surprised to see a visible result the first day. There was a noticeably calmer mood to all the classes after Relaxation Time that day. Sheila S. also reports a generally calmer demeanor in all the participating classes throughout the entire six months of our trial period.
I can’t emphasize enough that Relaxation Time is not a program to control children; it is a program for children to use to help control themselves. Others can assist, but when others use the trigger words the child is always the final arbiter of who they will respond to and how much they will respond.
The benefits of a program of this type are not limited to children on the autistic spectrum. I can see where it could be useful for children with ADD or any child that sometimes gets overwhelmed or has issues with focus.
Over the last six months we have had 25 students participate in the program and after several small modifications I am happy to say the Relaxation Time program is now ready for public release. I am currently working on the new website and I will soon have a link here on this page to where Relaxation Time can be purchased and downloaded. In the meantime please feel free to use the Contact Me link on this blog to ask me any questions you have.
Thank you very much,
Wes Graham C.C.Ht.
The Message is now available on Google Play
The Message is now available on Google Play as well as on iTunes and Amazon.com. The new link is at the bottom of the page.
In this world you can have anything you want; the hard part is knowing what that truly is.
The Message is a guided meditation with a nice long hypnotic induction. The purpose of The Message is to open a channel of communication with an individual’s own unconscious mind. To help that individual to discover what their unconscious mind is really trying to tell them.
While The Message does not employ many of my Hypno-Energetics technics, it does use some of the latest wild crafted sound I’ve recorded. I’ve also included a bonus track, a subliminal loop to play while sleeping. It contains positive affirmations for self-esteem and self-confidence.
Download it from Google Play http://bit.ly/1dXUyTf
Download it from iTunes http://bit.ly/14LFfIb
Download it from Amazon.com http://amzn.to/1cQIjuG
What is Hypnosis?
What is Hypnosis, that’s a good question. This is the explanation of the basic concept of hypnosis that I use in some of my recorded programs.
Thanks for listening,
Wes Graham C.C.Ht.
The Message now available on Amazon.com
The Message is now available on Amazon.com as well as on iTunes. The new link is at the bottom of the page.
In this world you can have anything you want; the hard part is knowing what that truly is.
The Message is a guided meditation with a nice long hypnotic induction. The purpose of The Message is to open a channel of communication with an individual’s own unconscious mind. To help that individual to discover what their unconscious mind is really trying to tell them.
While The Message does not employ many of my Hypno-Energetics technics, it does use some of the latest wild crafted sound I’ve recorded. I’ve also included a bonus track, a subliminal loop to play while sleeping. It contains positive affirmations for self-esteem and self-confidence.
Download it from iTunes http://bit.ly/14LFfIb
Now available on Amazon.com http://amzn.to/1cQIjuG
Stress Relief Tool
I put together a quick recording of a fractional relaxation. This is typically used as an induction to a longer hypnosis session but I find it’s also a wonderful standalone tool for general stress relief. Please feel free to download and enjoy.
(Right click below and Save Target As)
Get a Stone to Call your Own
A Habit from My Father
I guess I inherited my fascination with rocks and stones from my father. He was a desert-loving rock hound and had a collection of all the interesting stones he’d come across. These were not precious stones and were of no particular type or value; they just were interesting and “spoke” to him in some way. From time to time, he would pick one out and carry it in his pocket. He called it his “worry stone.” When he got stressed he would take it out or just stick his hand in his pocket and rub the stone. As if it were some magical talisman, he would transfer his stress to the stone. Because where your mind goes, your energy flows, for him, it worked.
Stones as Symbols
For as long as there have been humans, we have used inanimate objects, such as stones in particular, as powerful symbols. Large monolithic structures such as Stonehenge and the giants of Easter Island come to mind.
An even more striking example is the “Stone of Scone,” a small rectangular block of red sandstone that, since before recorded history, has be imbued with the power to make kings. It was used in the coronation of all the Kings of Scotland until 1296AD, when King Edward of England conquered Scotland. To enforce its submission as a vassal state, Edward took the stone and placed it in Westminster Abby and it has been used in the coronation of every English monarch since. In 1996, for political reasons it was decided that when not in use, the stone would be “stored” in Scotland. However, when Prince Charles is eventually made King of England he will be sitting on a throne placed on top of the Stone of Scone.
On a much more personal level stones can be beneficial symbols. They can remind us to place our energies where we want them.
Stones as Energetic “Batteries”
I’ve always had the habit of carrying a small stone with me most of the time. But instead of using it like some kind of symbolic septic tank, I prefer to think of it as a battery. When my energy is up, say after an exercise or a meditation, I often “push” my positive energy into the stone. Then when I feel drained, worried or just down, I take hold of the stone and imagine the energy flowing back into me. Any old stone will do, but it is better if it has a special meaning or it comes from a special place or time.
How my stone came to me
I’ve had many stone over the years, but my current “Sacred Stone” came to me in a truly special way. My path to these current projects has been interesting, personally difficult and sometimes quite odd. At one point when I was particularly stuck, I went to see a hypnotherapist. (Just like doctors don’t treat themselves, hypnotherapists quite often see other hypnotherapists.) During one of my sessions we were doing an exercise much like The Message. In this exercise I was looking for an “Inner or Spirit Guide” or even an Animal Guide. (Interestingly, quite often even people with no background knowledge or experience with Native American culture see their “Spirit Guide” as an animal.) In the trance I mentally envisioned myself in my “Happy Place.” In my case it was a picnic table in a real park I go to on the windward shore of the island of Oahu. I really had no expectation of what my guide would be; I wouldn’t have been surprised if I saw my great grandfather or if I saw a talking squirrel.
I was surprised when the guide who came to me in this trance state was actually me. A slightly thinner, long haired (my hair was shorter at the time), self-confident and, most importantly, very happy version of myself. Even in trance I was dumbfounded. He walks up to me, slaps me on my shoulder and said very gregariously, “Dude, you know what you want to do!” and showed me a vision that started me on the path to this work now. As we finished, in the vision/trance he/me smiled and handed me a small stone, which I felt and saw very clearly.
Weeks passed and the memory of the trance/vision was still strong in my mind as I worked to absorb the full meaning of it all. Now, I often order supplies and such over the Internet and one company where I get my favorite incense routinely sends little “gifts” with orders. These little things could be a string bracelet, a pin, etc., like spiritual Cracker Jacks prizes. Well, I received an order and opened the box and to my amazement they had sent me a stone. THEY HAD SENT ME THE STONE! Even in a life filled with bizarre and miraculous events this took the cake. Personally, I took it as a sign of the validity of my vision and I have treated it as such ever since.
Get a Stone to Call your Own
Below I’ve included a link to a Mindfulness exercised based on a “Personal Stone that I call “Minding the Stone.” If you don’t have one yet you should find one and make it your own. As I said, really any stone will do. It doesn’t have to come to you like some universal thunderbolt, but it should have some connection to you. Maybe you picked it up at your favorite beach or on your favorite hiking path. If you don’t have one yet just put the thought in your mind. Get in a relaxed state and mentally call for a special stone to come to you. Then just keep an eye out for it, in the next day or two you will see it; in in your yard, in a park or a parking lot, you will just know that it’s the right one. This might not be your end all, be all, sacred stone, but you can at least use it for this exercise.
You can click on it to play or right click on the 2nd link and select “Save target as” to download.
Thanks and enjoy,
Wes Graham C.C. Ht.
Release announcement: The Message.
Well, I’ve gone and done it, I’ve released my first hypnosis album, The Message. It’s now available on iTunes and will soon be available on all the big digital download sites.
In this world you can have anything you want; the hard part is knowing what that truly is.
The Message is a guided meditation with a nice long hypnotic induction. The purpose of The Message is to open a channel of communication with an individual’s own unconscious mind. To help that individual to discover what their unconscious mind is really trying to tell them.
While The Message does not employ many of my Hypno-Energetics technics, it does use some of the latest wild crafted sound I’ve recorded. I’ve also included a bonus track, a subliminal loop to play while sleeping. It contains positive affirmations for self-esteem and self-confidence.
Download it from iTunes http://bit.ly/14LFfIb
Now available on Amazon.com http://amzn.to/1cQIjuG
hypnoenergetics 