A TYPICAL HYPNOTIC SESSION WITH DR. HATHAWAY:
Hathaway writes:

I believe that salesmen, preachers, healers, Shamans, and politicians, to name a few, have
been consciously or unconsciously using the knowledge of trance states as a way of
enabling them to achieve their desired goals. If we focus on an individual we can observe
their body language, their eyes, or their voice and take note of when they enter, experience,
or leave a state of trance.

The knowledge of trance states can prove to be a powerful tool in helping a client change
habits.

To use this tool in my practice I must first learn how my client naturally goes into a trance.
begin to study their mental DNA the moment I meet them. How do they greet me? Is their
body stiff? Are they resistant to the process of change? I set about guiding them into their
natural trance states. I may speak at the same speed they do, breathe as they do, sit as
they do and talk about anything but what they set up an appointment for.

I want to know about their work, their hobbies their interests and favorite places they might
like to go where they can escape or be with people. Are they involved in athletics? I want to
know how they know what they know and how they create what they create. I watch
them enter into and out of trances. My voice has slowed and I begin to emphasize key
words as I reflect the client’s own words back to them. I ask questions like, “Can you
imagine picturing a special place? Can you see yourself in the picture? Is it in color? Is it
moving or still? How clear is it? Are there sounds there, smells, and how does it feel?”

I want to know if they can hear music or other sounds in their mind, slow it down, speed it
up, or adjust the volume. What do they like about the music, the words, melody, beat or the
feeling? Do they have a favorite smell? Can they experience it at that moment? How about
food? Do they have a favorite? Is there a food they don’t like? Is it because of the feel, the
smell or the taste? During this part of the hypnosis session I have now watched a typical
client go in and out of trance many times. I inform them that they have been in and out of
hypnosis many times in our conversation. I explain that the mind works backwards,
accessing memories, projects into the future, and is also in the moment which is constantly changing, influenced by the past and perceptions of the future. It is now time to address the
reason for the appointment.

The word “quit” creates the expectation that one must give something up in order to change.
“Quitting” implies an ominous task, one that provides little enjoyment and intrudes on a
person’s right to do something. It takes away their freedom. It is important to understand the
benefits of the unwanted habit. How does it feel, smell, taste, sound and how does the
client view their own participation in the habit? I ask what it is like to imagine the habit at that
very moment and what part of them likes and dislikes the experience. What is it like at
different times of the day or night and in different situations? What is it that they don’t enjoy
about the experience and why do they want to change? Then I ask the big questions. What
good will it do anyone else if they change, and how will the change affect other people and
circumstances in their lives?

I have found that many clients put themselves last and others first. They do not treat
themselves in the same manner as they do others. I create another trance. I ask them to
imagine they have a new friend, a relative, a customer or a client. When they have that
image I ask them to take a good look and see themselves as the other person. Many times
the client’s eyes open wide as they are taken a-back when they look into the mirror of their
mind and see themselves. I ask if it would not be better for others if they treated themselves
in the same way.

Together the client and I have now identified both negative and positive trances that they
have been experiencing. There is more to do. I’m still not ready to do “hypnosis” yet.

I explain that I believe all communication is either permissive or authoritative. We are told
what we should believe by others, and then we try to convince ourselves. Most of the time
this doesn’t work. Our intuitive mind searches for something to give us an outlet, an escape,
and this often manifests itself in a negative habit.

The next step is to imagine changing the negative habit and substitute a new positive one in
order to see if the change will be affective for both one’s self and others. How does it
work? Do we need to make some adjustments? I ask the client to project the new image into
the future. Is it comfortable and will it work? While there I ask what it would be like if the old
habit had not been changed. I intertwine the different images the client has given me over
the time spent with them and create a holographic swirl of words with both negative and
positives that move in the past, the future and the present. During this time, the clients are
totally involved in creating their own trance for a positive change. From this moment on, they
will quite likely never view their unwanted habit the same way as they did before their visit.
If they so choose, they may now give themselves permission to make the change, to go
beyond the impulse of the moment, to experience their own positive trances so they may
provide the benefits of the old negative trance without the negative effects.

Now it’s time to “hypnotize” the client. I tape the induction and recommend they play it once a
day, and each time they listen to it they reinforce the suggestions formed in the session.
They now have the tools to continue the change if they so choose to use them.

EVERYTHING IS HYPNOSIS
by Michael R. Hathaway, D.C.H.

Did you know that everything you do involves hypnosis? Believe it or not, it does. When you
think of hypnosis, does the image of a stage show, with a group of people doing crazy and
embarrassing things pop into your mind? Do you imagine someone with piercing eyes that
might take control of your mind? If that is how you think of hypnosis, you are not alone. The
stage show is a form of hypnosis that for better or worse helps publicize that idea to many people who might not give it a thought otherwise. Many of you don't even dare to look a
hypnotist in the eyes out of fear going into an instant trance. The state of trance is a major
part of hypnosis; however it is not the hypnotist that creates it, you do.

The word "hypnosis" comes from the Greek word "hypnos" which means sleep.
A hypnotized person can look as if they are asleep. Actually they are far from it. They are in
a state of heightened focus. Their focus has shifted from the normal world into what an
athlete calls the "zone". While they are in that zone, they can change the perception of
speed, time, and distance. To a basketball player, being in the zone means that the hoop is
not thirty feet away; in their mind it is only three feet away. They can mentally almost reach
out and guide the ball into the net. When this happens, they are in a hypnotic state.

You enter trances many times each day. It might be when you are driving down the
highway, your mind drifts off, and before you know it you have gone by your destination.
You may become so absorbed in a book or television program that you lose track of time.
You may become so involved in work or a project that you let several hours slip by
unnoticed. Some of you virtually live in a trance.

Not all trances are positive ones. You may constantly replay events of the past in your mind.
You may worry about the future. Someone could treat you unfairly and you become
consumed with anger. You may carry a sense of guilt with you wherever you go. These
are all negative trances - negative hypnotic trances.

Hypnosis can be defined as "communication and imagination". Every advertisement is
hypnotic. Every word and thought written or spoken is hypnotic. Even religion is hypnotic.

"Communication" is the ability to get your message to someone else in a way that they can
understand the meaning of it. The wrong words or actions may send the wrong image.
Communication is also the ability to understand what you are telling yourself. It is possible to
be a great communicator with others and not with yourself.

"Imagination" is the ability to string together a series of images that create an understanding
in your mind or the minds of others. Advertisers use your ability to imagine so that that can
get you to purchase their products and services. They may want you to imagine a good
result or a bad result. They are experts at using negative and positively imagery to induce
you into a hypnotic trance that lets their message filter into your unconscious mind. Their
goal is to influence you by planting a suggestion in your mind that will become real to you.

Some religions consider hypnosis to be the work of the devil, and its members are forbidden
to practice it. An image is created in the minds of the worshippers that relates to evil. Some
go so far as to define it as mind control. The very nature of the imagery and communication
used to discourage the practice of hypnosis is actually hypnotic in itself.

Every single person on earth will experience hypnosis naturally and differently from each
other. That is because you have your own mental DNA, which, just like your physical DNA,
has its own blueprint. However, that blueprint can only be determined by understanding
your mind. That's where imagery or imagination comes in. You process your information or
communication through five different senses. They are seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and
smelling. Every experience you have, whether you are aware of it or not, is taken in through
one or more of these senses. It is then stored in your unconscious mind as a memory.

Your unconscious mind makes up about ninety percent of your total mind. The thinking or
analytical conscious mind is the other ten percent. Each one of you experiences and
remembers differently through your five different senses. When you remember, you recall
the information in your strongest sense images. If you are not visual, you will not remember
in pictures. The same goes for any of the other senses. Your mental DNA is determined by
how you process or image through the combination of these five senses. No one else is
going to do it exactly like you. No one will communicate exactly like you. No one will
experience hypnosis like you. Your imagery and how you communicate with it will determine
your state of hypnotic trance.

Hypnosis is most often experienced in a light trance. The trance may last for only a brief
moment, or it could last for much longer. You may not even be aware of when you are in a
trance state. A skilled salesperson can induce a buying trance where you have the product
in hand before you are aware you even purchased it. You enter worry trances, fear
trances, anger trances, love trances, and creative trances where your focus becomes so
intense that you lose track of anything else. If you do not know how to change the trance,
it will run its course unless it is interrupted.

Hypnosis can be used for many positive applications in your life. It can help you change a
habit, reduce stress, improve a skill or ability, and create better health. It is all in the way you
communicate in positive images with yourself. It can even help you focus on your faith.

Everything you do is hypnotic. If you are aware of the trances in which you live, imagery
and communication can be a powerful tool for you to use to find balance in your life. If you
are unaware of them, you can spend much of your life out of balance. Your mind and gifts
are unique and different. The understanding of what hypnosis is and how to use it positively
can help you find and keep your life in mental, physical, and spiritual balance.
White Mountain Hypnosis Center
PO Box 276 • 428 Conway Road (Rt 113)
Madison, NH 03849 • 603.367.8851
wmhc@whitemountainhypnosiscenter.com
© 2003-2010 White Mountain Hypnosis Center