Psychosomatic is Not a Dirty Word
I want to reclaim the word psychosomatic. Many times when a physician, caregiver or therapist uses that word, regarding someone’s illness, condition or symptoms, that person believes that they are being accused of “faking it” That’s because, depending on the practitioner and/or their discipline, that could be exactly what they are thinking! But, it is getting better.
When the word was first coined in the 1860s, it really was a dirty 13-letter word doctors could use right in front of their ignorant patient to tell others “in the know” that the patient was a hypochondriac and it was all just “in their head.” Now, hopefully, those days have gone the way of leeches and bleedings.
The world of western style healthcare has, in the last few decades, really started to wrap their collective heads around the profound connection between mind and body. It is now accepted that some diseases have a physiological /emotional component. In some circles, my own included, the concept that all disease has a physiological /emotional component (if not cause) is being gradually accepted.
My personal belief is that the mind body connection is not a one-way street, but is in fact a circle or cycle. More exactly, in the case of ill health, it is a descending, self-amplifying closed feedback loop of stress, depression and disease. Real, physical disease.
It’s a downward cycle:
- If you meet someone with a chronic illness you can bet good money that it causes them stress.
- If you meet someone with stress, you can bet they will eventually get depressed.
- But, if you meet someone who is profoundly depressed, who wants to take the bet that a chronic illness won’t just “coincidentally” find them?
- Then, if you meet that someone with a chronic illness you can bet good money that it causes them stress.
And so on.
One disease or condition may have a stronger emotional component than another and the components of the downward cycle are not equal. They don’t affect all conditions and disorders the same, but I believe all the components will always be present to some degree. As far as how this concept applies practically, a downward cycle can start with any of the components; consequently, the repair can start with any of the components. This is particularly helpful when the disease, condition or syndrome is poorly understood by the medical community. If your local M.D. has a quick and effective solution, why not use it? If I have an infection that an antibiotic can easily cure, I use it (and I’m a real “alternative medicine” kind of guy.)
On the other hand, there are many afflictions that the medical and scientific communities really don’t have a grip on; they can’t really explain them and they can only treat the symptoms. In that case, we need to attack the other components of the cycle. Our bodies are amazing healing machines. We swim in a sea of pathogens; we defeat bacteria, viruses, mutated cells (cancers) every day and only fail when we are overwhelmed mentally or physically by the downward cycle. We just need to break the cycle somewhere, anywhere, to turn it around and eventually turn it into an ascending loop of both mental and physical, health and wellness.
All disease is at least a little psychosomatic. Hell, in many ways life is psychosomatic. So let’s reclaim the word, it’s too useful a word to be left derogatory.
Wes Graham C.C.Ht.
Depth of Trance, Who is in Control?
It is a common misconception, based on the representation of hypnosis on TV and in films, that a hypnotized subject is like a zombie under the Svengali-like control of the hypnotist. This image is also reinforced by the routines of stage hypnotists, whose use of a deep somnambulistic (similar to sleep-walking) trance states make for an entertaining show. The therapeutic use of hypnosis is quite different. In a therapeutic setting the depth of the trance is not nearly so important and mostly at the discretion of the subjects, whether they know it or not.
The hypnotherapist is basically a facilitator and guide; it is the clients that are ultimately the judge of what they need. For some, the experience they require for positive change is a deep, almost hallucinogenic trance state and that’s what they will naturally go to. For others, a simple game of “close your eyes and make believe” is exactly what they need and that’s what they will naturally go to. Both extremes and everything in-between can and will work for the clients if the hypnotherapist just allows them to go where they need to go and then just helps them deal with what comes up.
As is often said, all hypnosis is Self-Hypnosis. Either consciously or unconsciously, it is always voluntary. The process of calling, setting the appointment and sitting down with a hypnotist is a significant part of the initial hypnotic induction. Yes, I, like most hypnotherapists, will start with some basic inductions and tests. This gives me a feel for how the client responds (where they want/need to go), but more importantly, it gives the client’s unconscious mind a reference point for the tools and experience of hypnosis that has already begun just by being there.
Wes Graham C.C.Ht.
Rational Irrationality
On a recent trip to Austin TX. I visited Natural Treasures, a store that specializes in stones, crystals and various “New Age” accoutrements. They often have different alternative practitioners doing sessions in the store. On this day there was a gentlemen, Kramer Wetzel, doing Astrological readings and on a whim I decided to give it a try.
Now, I generally look at the world through what I consider a very rational, almost scientific, lens, I try to understand why and how things work. There is no way my rational mind can wrap itself around the proposition that the position of the planets and stars, cross referenced with the time and date of your birth, can tell you anything about your past, your future or your current circumstance, it’s just irrational. That being said, I received a very accurate reading. I detected no “cold reading” technic or any other misdirection or tricks.
This got me thinking, when you think about it; we seem to live in an irrational universe. The fact that some sub-atomic particles can simultaneously exist and not exist, or have no location or mass until someone decides to measure it seems pretty crazy and irrational to me but it has been tested again and again and proven to be so.
When we wake up every morning in a universe where rational logic says we should be able to walk through walls because they (and us) are 99.999999999999******% empty space, is it that much of an intellectual stretch to say that “something” ties us to the stars, or the tarot cards, or the tea leaves, whatever. I suspect that what we now consider irrational is no such thing. We have only existed as a species for an incredibly short period of time. By universal standard we only figured out fire a tiny fraction of a second ago, maybe what seems irrational now is just stuff we haven’t figured out yet.
I never want to just believe something offhand, so I always refer back to Arthur C Clarke’s 3 laws, especially law number 3.
1.When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2.The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3.Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
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
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)
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
Audio-Homeopathy
A simplified explanation of one of the main tenets of homeopathic medicine is that: though a homeopathic medicine, through a process of dilution, may have little or none of the original active ingredient remaining, it still retains its effect. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy)
My quest is to integrate various energetic healing technics into what, by its nature, will be mostly an audio experience. One of the tools I’m developing to incorporate Geo- Energetics into my work is “Audio-Homeopathy.”
Through the use of high resolution audio recordings, using high-end microphones, hydrophones and geophones, my goal is to capture, as much as possible, the essence of highly Geo-Energetic locations. I also aim to incorporate the healing sonic and vibrational elements so highly regarded in the Vedic traditions. For example, it would be great to do live sessions on top of a Kilauea volcano in Hawaii or at Cathedral Rock in Sedona Arizona, that’s not always practical. By capturing the essence of these places through recordings, I am able to make this process more accessible and most importantly in the context of a recorded hypnosis program, repeatable.
This is why I’m calling my metaphor, so to speak, “Audio- Homeopathy.”
Wes Graham C.C.Ht.
hypnoenergetics 