Rick said that in order to be hypnotized, a person has to want hypnosis. I convinced myself that I did, but it took a while to keep myself from feeling like I was part of a carnival act for a few minutes:
...I was clipped to a monitor on my palm for measuring brain activity
...the lights dimmed
...soft music began
...Rick's voice dropped to a soft glide (had to fight back smiles here)
...he asked me to place my thumb and forefinger together
...he told me to relax each part of my body, walking from my head to my soles
...slowly he counted back from 20 to 1 over the course of a couple minutes
...envision the chair wrapping around you like a cloud
...you're carried to a place where you are happy and comfortable
While I was in my happy place, he dropped in some ideas:
...repeat "every day, in every way, I am better and better"
...when I see the color red, I will recall how much better life is headed
...do my meditations twice a day
...don't meditate while driving (a fact repeated on the label of the hypno-music CD he sold me for $12)
After counting from 1 to 5, the session ended. The monitor's chart showed that after 18 minutes of relatively stable brain activity, I'd slipped fairly sharply down into level 2 hypnosis. I feel sure that I remembered the whole experience, but estimated its length to be ten minutes, not 22. In fact, the entire session including the hypnosis was 3 1/2 hours, so I'd say that my estimating was off all night!
Most of Rick's patients are in more dire straits than me, dealing with severe emotional or physical problems. While the mind and body are connected, hypnotherapy's effectiveness is varied and personal, not unlike other forms of meditation, or prayer or spirituality for that matter. I'd gained enough knowledge to get my fill -- I told him that I'd practice the techniques that brought me to level 2, and if I'm ever ready to pay for more, I'll be back!
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