Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.
Product reviews for Mastering the Power of Self-Hypnosis
Dr. Nicole Ruysschaert. M.D. Psychiatrist, President ESH, ASCH and ISH member
The book as well as the idea that “trance has a valid place in the world today for all who desire to improve themselves, whether personally, professionally or spiritually” (p 210) gives a deserved place to working with hypnosis and self-hypnosis, utilizing the benefits of trance. Other motivating ideas can be “be the captain of your subconscious programming and send your mind-ship at warp speed toward your dreams” (p 211)
One main idea worked out is the -˜subconscious programming' telling that we can't just erase but that we must record a new program over the old and replace it. The next important pillar of the book's theory is about gateways to the subconscious based on his late mentor Charles Tebbets' teaching. Repetition, authority, desire for Identity, hypnosis/self-hypnosis and emotion are represented as 5 gateways to the subconscious. Self-hypnosis in combination with positive emotion is recommended for -˜success' and control over negative emotions and a means to have impact on the subconscious programming.
Readers get basic information on hypnosis and some ways to practice on their own to enter trance as the book promotes self-hypnosis, giving indications for it without omitting limits of it, and showing where professional help is indicated. A useful self-help part of the book is the -˜motivation map', with an overview of the ingredients in chapter 7 and a detailed workout in the appendix for smokers and for weight reduction. I support the importance of seeing where a smoker wanting to quit is on the motivational scale and the motivational power of monitoring progress in motivation to quit.
The way to succeed in changes is metaphorically represented as -˜planning the journey', with one of the first steps clearing obstacles. As what you focus on enlarges, maybe not the first step to take, but anyway an important one to open up the way to change. By there you as a reader are already made familiar with some progressive relaxation and hypnosis exercises and discovered your personal style? Maybe you have listened to the CD as additional help or maybe made your own recording? The deep in my opinion forced -˜hypnotic voice' with numerous repetitions of -˜deep', deeper, very deep, rather induces sleep, and inactivity than creative or active work with hypnosis. Anyway you are invited to enter the -˜rehearsal room of your mind' where you can practice when faced with situations that -˜trigger your buttons' and learn or rehearse to making choices between expressing, rehearsing how to express, or release and let go. A full script of the recorded CD gives readers the choice to make their own recording with their own voice or the voice of a friend they prefer.
Empowerment, mentioned in the script as “activate your power point ” is achieved by reliving a personal success experience found -˜in the storehouse of your mind-¦.'. Next steps in the journey are finding goals and prioritizing goals. An original mathematical formula, comparing one goal with all the others, one by one and finding the priority must let you know where to start. This would give surprising results, and help every doubtful reader with decision making problems on track.
Part IV -” Creative Daydreaming -” is introduced by some -˜salesman' techniques talking about selling success to your subconscious -” -˜WII-FM or What's In It For Me' (p.149) and -˜buying the benefits of change before trying to sell the price of change' (p. 150). The most powerful self-hypnosis exercise for empowerment is clearly explained in the creative daydreaming and the different steps to follow: to select a particular goal, imagine you have reached the goal, the five senses involved, creating a positive emotional bond with that state, making you feel empowered to give up or replace an older bond. This method is illustrated in smoking cessation, weight reduction, sports enhancement, memory and study habits.
The journey is completed with adding words of power, affirmations and suggestions. One could critically examine the idea that -˜affirmations, hypnotic suggestions and/or autosuggestions should be constructed to convince the subconscious mind of the possibility of what the conscious mind already accepts' as stated here. Perhaps at the level of self-hypnosis or symptomatic work one can see it like that. In my opinion many problems have roots at subconscious or unconscious level that needs to be accessed in therapeutic hypnosis to make changes at the roots or at a deeper level, followed by changes in conscious conceptualization.
Personal experiences and success stories can be important motivators to convey ideas and methods. In this book the author shows how he himself and clients are helped with (self) hypnosis in reaching goals, improving self-image, overcoming adversity, becoming successful. In some passages you rather encounter the side of the -˜business man', emphasizing success than the -˜hypnotherapist', in other passages religion as a resource is clearly present, reflected in a preaching style with citations from the bible.
I appreciate the way readers are guided in self-hypnosis with its possibilities and limits, and where necessary getting advice for hypnotherapy and/or professional -˜parts therapy'.
More scientifically oriented readers might regret the simplification and misconception of the state of hypnosis, being simply equalized with an alpha state of mind, falling asleep and meditation. In the history of hypnosis I found information or interpretations different from what I read in other professional writings. The cynical tone telling “a great blessing that the good doctor could not control his subjects, otherwise hypnosis might be totally controlled by psychologists and/or medical professions” (p37) shows some lack of respect for the search and work of pioneers in hypnosis. The book is written in common language, focusing on some easy to convey concepts and theories for a general public. Psychological theories or insights are simplified, sometimes reduced to an all too simplistic view (-˜clean plate suggestion's to explain weight problems later in life). The book may be recommended as introductory reading for a general non-critical public. Professionals with a medical and psychological background might find it an oversimplification of scientifically based work with hypnosis.
One main idea worked out is the -˜subconscious programming' telling that we can't just erase but that we must record a new program over the old and replace it. The next important pillar of the book's theory is about gateways to the subconscious based on his late mentor Charles Tebbets' teaching. Repetition, authority, desire for Identity, hypnosis/self-hypnosis and emotion are represented as 5 gateways to the subconscious. Self-hypnosis in combination with positive emotion is recommended for -˜success' and control over negative emotions and a means to have impact on the subconscious programming.
Readers get basic information on hypnosis and some ways to practice on their own to enter trance as the book promotes self-hypnosis, giving indications for it without omitting limits of it, and showing where professional help is indicated. A useful self-help part of the book is the -˜motivation map', with an overview of the ingredients in chapter 7 and a detailed workout in the appendix for smokers and for weight reduction. I support the importance of seeing where a smoker wanting to quit is on the motivational scale and the motivational power of monitoring progress in motivation to quit.
The way to succeed in changes is metaphorically represented as -˜planning the journey', with one of the first steps clearing obstacles. As what you focus on enlarges, maybe not the first step to take, but anyway an important one to open up the way to change. By there you as a reader are already made familiar with some progressive relaxation and hypnosis exercises and discovered your personal style? Maybe you have listened to the CD as additional help or maybe made your own recording? The deep in my opinion forced -˜hypnotic voice' with numerous repetitions of -˜deep', deeper, very deep, rather induces sleep, and inactivity than creative or active work with hypnosis. Anyway you are invited to enter the -˜rehearsal room of your mind' where you can practice when faced with situations that -˜trigger your buttons' and learn or rehearse to making choices between expressing, rehearsing how to express, or release and let go. A full script of the recorded CD gives readers the choice to make their own recording with their own voice or the voice of a friend they prefer.
Empowerment, mentioned in the script as “activate your power point ” is achieved by reliving a personal success experience found -˜in the storehouse of your mind-¦.'. Next steps in the journey are finding goals and prioritizing goals. An original mathematical formula, comparing one goal with all the others, one by one and finding the priority must let you know where to start. This would give surprising results, and help every doubtful reader with decision making problems on track.
Part IV -” Creative Daydreaming -” is introduced by some -˜salesman' techniques talking about selling success to your subconscious -” -˜WII-FM or What's In It For Me' (p.149) and -˜buying the benefits of change before trying to sell the price of change' (p. 150). The most powerful self-hypnosis exercise for empowerment is clearly explained in the creative daydreaming and the different steps to follow: to select a particular goal, imagine you have reached the goal, the five senses involved, creating a positive emotional bond with that state, making you feel empowered to give up or replace an older bond. This method is illustrated in smoking cessation, weight reduction, sports enhancement, memory and study habits.
The journey is completed with adding words of power, affirmations and suggestions. One could critically examine the idea that -˜affirmations, hypnotic suggestions and/or autosuggestions should be constructed to convince the subconscious mind of the possibility of what the conscious mind already accepts' as stated here. Perhaps at the level of self-hypnosis or symptomatic work one can see it like that. In my opinion many problems have roots at subconscious or unconscious level that needs to be accessed in therapeutic hypnosis to make changes at the roots or at a deeper level, followed by changes in conscious conceptualization.
Personal experiences and success stories can be important motivators to convey ideas and methods. In this book the author shows how he himself and clients are helped with (self) hypnosis in reaching goals, improving self-image, overcoming adversity, becoming successful. In some passages you rather encounter the side of the -˜business man', emphasizing success than the -˜hypnotherapist', in other passages religion as a resource is clearly present, reflected in a preaching style with citations from the bible.
I appreciate the way readers are guided in self-hypnosis with its possibilities and limits, and where necessary getting advice for hypnotherapy and/or professional -˜parts therapy'.
More scientifically oriented readers might regret the simplification and misconception of the state of hypnosis, being simply equalized with an alpha state of mind, falling asleep and meditation. In the history of hypnosis I found information or interpretations different from what I read in other professional writings. The cynical tone telling “a great blessing that the good doctor could not control his subjects, otherwise hypnosis might be totally controlled by psychologists and/or medical professions” (p37) shows some lack of respect for the search and work of pioneers in hypnosis. The book is written in common language, focusing on some easy to convey concepts and theories for a general public. Psychological theories or insights are simplified, sometimes reduced to an all too simplistic view (-˜clean plate suggestion's to explain weight problems later in life). The book may be recommended as introductory reading for a general non-critical public. Professionals with a medical and psychological background might find it an oversimplification of scientifically based work with hypnosis.
Guest
|
12/06/2012 01:00
Was this review helpful?
(0/0)