Demystifying Hypnosis

Look Deep Into My Eyes or at This Glittery Thingy and I will make you bark like a chicken!

Have you been to a stage hypnosis show?

Have you been on stage IN a stage hypnosis show?

Have you sat in the audience watching in shocked awe as that guy did the Big Bad Booty dance to “Baby’s Got Back?”

Have you thought, OMG!  No way that hypnotist is getting ME up on stage to turn ME into a BIG BAD BOOTY DANCER!

Well, tonight, I’d like to assuage your fears a little bit, and assure you, that nobody can control your mind.  After this explanation, you will understand that hypnosis is not the same as mind control.  Under hypnosis, you are in complete control.  Nobody can turn you into a big bad booty dancer if you don’t have the big bad booty dance in you!

Let me start with Exhibit A.

Here is your brain in its normal alpha state.  If you can recall from the movie Star Wars, the Death Star was practically impervious to rebel attack.

Now your brain wasn’t always like this.  When you are a young child, all outside forces easily influenced your brain.  You would accept anything and everything as truth.  Around ages 5 to 7, though, a defense mechanism, known as your developing ego, was erected to protect you.  Outside forces after that age have a harder time getting in.  You become wiser and less gullible.  We will call this the “Death Star Effect”.

The Death Star Effect is the normal state of mind for most people.  Think of it as a “benevolent” Darth Vader.  Though you might think it is good to have Darth Vader in your mind, especially if he keeps the controlling hypnotists of the Big Bad Booty Dance at bay, Darth also prevents you from changing certain habits or old tapes that play in your head.

The Statue of Darth-berty

Some routines in your brain are really good.  But some are not as pleasant.  Have you ever tried to break a bad habit unsuccessfully?  Blame that on Darth Vader’s Death Star.  He locks in both good habits and bad…

So how can hypnosis defeat Darth?

In a state of deep relaxation, your ego skips off the scene, thus dropping the energy force field of the Death Star.  This allows a person, such as Luke Skywalker, to get past the protective barrier and talk directly to the brain, thus changing brain patterns.   In this state, you can forge new pathways in your mind.  You will allow yourself to do things in new and different ways.

Please allow me to present Exhibit B:  your brain in beta state.

Have you ever noticed how flexible and pliable a child is to new ideas?   That is because they have a Pre Darth brain.  Now you most likely have a Post Darth Brain.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t try new things.  It just means it’s a little bit harder to form new habits.  If you are quite diligent, you will be able to form new habits by repetition.

It is known that if you want to change habits, you can do so by making sure to repeat the same new good habit every day for 40 days, and this new habit will become ingrained in your routine.

Now not everybody has the patience to wait 40 days.  If you would like to take a quicker approach, you might want to give hypnosis a try.

Through the deeply relaxed, yet aware state, you will be able to quickly break the walls down.  You can once again experience a child-like brain, open and flexible.  The relaxed state of hypnosis allows suggestions in.  It allows you to change habits.  It allows you to release fears and negative emotions.  It allows you to do the Big Bad Booty Dance without inhibitions.

And fortunately, when you come back to room awareness, and the Death Star Effect falls back into place, those new Good Habits and intentions are locked behind the electric fence, trapped in the Death Star.

Your star is looking a whole lot less death-like, no?

Before I go any further, please let me assure you.  Though you are changing things, your common sense is still intact.   You still know what is right and wrong.  And though you are in a relaxed state, you will still protect yourself from bad advice.  Nobody can make you do anything you DON’T want to do.

So.  What does all this have to do with that guy up on stage doing the Big Bad Booty Dance?

Well, he has dropped his inhibitions, and is acting like a playful little kid.  He has let his inner child out and is having fun.  Remember, if he didn’t want to do the Big Bad Booty Dance… if he didn’t want to get up on stage and be star for the night… if he didn’t know how to dance…  He just wouldn’t.

I know.  Because I’ve been to stage shows where some people act nuts, and others just sit in their chairs like lumps.

To be on the safe side, though, when those Big Bad Booty Dancers come back to the here and now, and the Death Star energy field falls back into place, do him a favor.  Don’t tell him, “Luke.  I am your fathah!”  He may whip out his lightsaber and say, “May the force be with you!”

Fun Your Way Out of the Box!

darth vader · death star effect on brain · fun · hypnosis · relaxation · stage hypnosis

Ah.  The Holidays are upon us.

Let the Holiday sweep you away, washing you into a sea of bliss!

Once again I am not yet ready for them.  Are you?

I suggest we change the expression, from “happy” to “how pee”, as many people seem more pissed off than merry with all the stress they put upon themselves at this time of year.

How pee?  Because there are so many shoppers around, the lines for the bathroom are certain to be long.  It’s enough to put you in a daze.  It’s sure to make you howl.  Howl in anguish of the bladder fullness.

So how pee when line so long?  I no know.

Perhaps we ought to be like that ass-tro-not lady who wore Depends diapers on her cross-country trip to chase after her not-boyfriend.  That was really smart.  Why even try to attempt a pit stop for the room of rest when it is guaranteed to be unrestful?

I don’t know about you, but I like my restroom experiences to be resty and roomy.  Not wresty and rheumy.

That is enough to chew on for now.  Save your chewing for Thursday when you sink your teeth into whatever food stuffs you might be mowing!

And if you need one or more rest and relaxation sessions, and if you need to go to a real room of rest, feel free to schedule a hypno session with moi!

Fun Your Way Out of the Ice Box!

holiday stress · hypnosis · relax · room of rest

So here I am, staring at this blank blog screen wondering what to write about.

Wondering what to write about and allowing my fingers to spew out whatever they will upon this here keyboard.  Whether I have something to say or not.

It has to do with a goal I set for myself, after being MIA for over a month.   The goal:   to report to blog duty daily.  Kind of like we all have to go to work, whether we like it or not, I determined that whether I like it or not, I have to go to blog.

Fortunately, I actually like it.  Staring at a blank screen is very relaxing.  Hypnotic even.  I am getting very relaxed.  And very sleepy…

Wait!  I digress.  I count myself back to room awareness.

You see.  As I was saying, I set a goal.  Since that goal was set, I have honored it.  I do not know how.  Because everyday, I stare at the screen and wonder.  What to write?

Ahhhh!  There goes that relaxation hypno thingy again…

Wait!  Counting back…

Coming up with ideas that are write-worthy is not always easy.  And as I sit here, I hope that my mind will respond with something.  My mind is not exactly barren, but the thoughts flutter about like gum wrappers upon the wind.  Hard to grasp.  They slip through my fingers.

I sneak over to OMG! for inspiration.  OMG! like, why?

And suddenly, it all comes together like an air popper of popcorn.  And all the words just fly out of my brain and onto the page.

My ideas are light and fluffy like air popped popcorn. Hold the butter!

OMG! how did that happen.  I don’t know.  Not exactly always writeworthy, but it’s late, and I wrote, so off to bed I go.

Pleasant dreams to you all!

Fun Your Way out of the Box!

goal setting · hypnosis · room awareness

Today my day started.  Which is a nice way to crack the dawn.  Nothing like a clear cut  launch to initiate a morning.  That and a couple of eggs over easy with sliced heirloom tomatoes, a little bit of grated Parmesan and fresh milled sea salt.

But somehow though my day launched, and got off the ground, it managed to  get pulled into an erratic orbit flitting about bank reconciliations, iced mocha lattes, ceiling dust, hypnosis and carrot cake.  It was a confusing mix, and my brain is still trying to get a grip on the situation.

It isn’t exactly making sense to me how so many unrelated items can manage to fit themselves into ten consecutive hours of my life.  Maybe I should have eaten some of the carrot cake instead of the ceiling dust.

It is this sort of surreal existence that often makes me feel that I am part of a painting by Max Ernst.

My surreal life with my dream pet

For those interested, I am the funky mechanical device on top of the elephant, not the half naked torso.

And the people who populate my daily meanderings are often like this:

Standing on the corner waiting for the bus...

Every bit as colorful, only a little louder.  Noise and lots of talky talk always accompany the lively characters I bump into.  And to add a bit of noise to your life, here’s one of my favorite songs to accompany the masterpiece shown above.

I don’t know how else to wrap my brain around this except to smoke a shoe like they did in Jitterbug Perfume.  Train of thought to be picked up at the next station, we hope!

Fun Your Way out of the Box!

hypnosis · surrealism

Today I walked through the day with closed eyes.  Figuratively.  Not Literally.

It was just one of those days which I wanted to snuggle in bed and meditate and do Reiki.

The husband and daughter took off for the Swap Meet.  Ahh!  Two hours of bliss.  Moments like this rarely happen for a harried mom!    But somehow, every time I tried to go off into another mind place, the phone rang.  Aaacccchhh!  Dontcha hate that?

I tried to remain calm.  But it was kind of tough.  I was so looking forward to my time alone.  So I took a deep breath, went to my favorite place.  And wouldn’t ya know it?  Within moments, the husband and the whelp returned home.

Then I had to sterilize a filthy hairbrush my daughter bought, admire a new handbag, and gush over a discounted box of Q-tips.  Ah.  So much for a mom’s day off.

So after hairbrush cleaning/sterilization, and ooh-ing and ahh-ing I did the next best thing.  I only pretended I was hanging with the family, but I was actually off somewhere else.  On a mini-vacation of the mind.

I walked through the day with my eyes closed.  Figuratively.  Not Literally.  As I said before.  Good thing, because though I know my house pretty well, doors and walls have a tendency to bump into me!

It was very nice, and now I feel like I actually had the day off that I expected.

What is funny is that I was discussing vacations of the mind with a friend.  She was tired and wanted to go on holiday, but because of finances and the need to work, she was unable to take the rest she needed.

For my dear friend, I wrote the following mini meditation.

Then I got to thinking.  Maybe other people need a break, too!  A break that does not require logging into Travelocity.  Or driving/flying/train taking/bus riding/boat floating….  Or wads and wads of cash.

So I’m sharing this with you, dear reader, if you need a little Time Off, that is totally free.  Please enjoy the following script for a Vacation of the Mind.

Beautiful Sunset

Close your eyes, and imagine you are at a place that you love. Imagine it with all of your senses.

See the sights, the colors of this place. The color of the sky. The look of the flora and fauna. What is the lay of the landscape?  See it as if you are there.  Because You Are There.

Hear the sounds. Are there birds chirping? Are there sounds of water, like the ocean waves crashing or the sound of abundance flowing like a babbling brook?  Hear everything as if you are there.  Because You Are There.

Smell and taste the scents in the air. The aroma of the flowers or the spray of salt water in the breeze. Perhaps the scent of pine trees or crisp mountain air?  What kind of food is there to eat?  Inhale the aromas of what you are eating.  Taste and chew.  And enjoy.  Calorie Free.  With amazing culinary sensations.  Yum.

Feel. The breeze brushing gently through your hair. The sun on your skin. The soft grass or crunchy sand beneath your feet.  Is it warm?  Is it cold?  What are you wearing?  Is it comfy?  Or itchy?  Or bulky?  Or light?

What are you doing?  Are you alone?  Or are you with someone?  Or in a group?  Whether alone or with others, imagine with all your senses that you are at this place enjoying yourself immensely!

Spend at least five minutes here in chronological time.  And allow your mind to believe that this five minutes is expanded into a long weekend, a week, or a month.  Whatever amount of time you actually need will reside in five minutes of “real” time.

Because time isn’t real.

Breathe.

Sense the blissfulness. You are at peace. And more relaxed than you have ever been. Take yourself deep within, into the core of your being. Into your higher self. Lift yourself above the earthly dimension and allow yourself to fully partake in this place that you love.

This is your mini vacation. This is your special place. You can go here any time you need to recharge your mind, body and spirit. You feel light, relaxed and at peace.

In this place, allow yourself to release all stress and tension you may be holding in your physical body. Empty yourself of all negativity. Imagine a vacuum cleaner is just sucking all that stuff out of you.

And now, empty of all the dreck, imagine the Universe filling you with light, love and boundless energy. You feel amazingly good. You shine and glow with radiant health and happiness and good fortune.

Again.  Please allow yourself to spend at least five minutes in this place. Five minutes of “real time” will feel like a wonderful, vacation of the perfect length of time for you, be it a long weekend or a month. For “real” time is only what you choose it to be.

When you feel fully recharged, bring yourself comfortably back to room awareness. Then open your eyes, reach your hands over your head and stretch. Then say, “YES!”

Copyright 2010 Vicky Schroeder

My gift to you.  Enjoy your trip!

Fun Your Way out of the Box!

harried mom · Holiday · hypnosis · meditation · mini vacation of the mind · reiki · Swap Meet · Time Off

This morning I woke up. Which is usually a good way to start the day.
I had a sense of well-being that it was a day and I was awake.

The thing was.  Because there was a thing, you know.  That for some reason my head felt like it had a spike growing out of it.  Or even a mountain.  It was a curious way to start the day.

I wondered.  But not to the point of actually getting up.  What the appendage on my head might be.  Could I have turned into a unicorn?  With the state of my dreams, last night, anything was possible.  For my slumbering journeys over the past few hours were quite odd and unusual.

Probably nothing to do with eating that late night snack of left over lasagne noodles covered in hot sauce, sliced jalapeno olives, and melted havarti with dill.

Or that on my way home from a Meeting of Toastmasters, I watched the moon set over the 22 freeway.  It was close to the horizon, a giant crescent, looking like a huge banana in the sky.

I’d post a picture.  But I decided to drive safely for a change!  Yay,  Zill!  Your co-pilot lectures on safe driving and not being a Maria Shriver emulator are working on me.  (She will one day be a great hypnotist, no?)

I felt my head.  To the touch, it wasn’t bumpy.  But my reiki energy detected something extra where my physical face ended.  There was a sense that my forehead was Lieutenant Worf-ish.  Maybe my time travels with Shelley had turned me into an alien overnight.

Worfed feeling in my Brain

Finally, my curiosity got the better of me.  I had to get up and check.  Check the mirror.

And the person that looked back at me was me.

Whew!

That was a relief.  I don’t think my hat would have fit if I was suddenly Worfed!

Okay.  Time to start my day.  Thank goodness some dreams don’t come true!

Have a Fun Your Way out of the Box Day!

dreams · hypnosis · reiki

So.  You may be asking yourself,  “What?  It’s been almost a week.  And.   No blog posts?  Where’s Vick?

Well.  Funny you may be asking.

I guess I have been in recovery.

Because.

Last weekend, I happened to visit Dr. Shelley Stockwell Nicholas‘s Past Life Hypnosis class.  And I almost didn’t make it back.  Wait.  No.  That was her.  I made it back.  But she almost didn’t.  So.  I’ll get to that.

Let me regress.  A nice change from my typical digress, huh?

Anyway.  If you’ve never done a past life journey before, it’s really a fun trip.  The person acting as my hypnotist took me to a library in my mind.  Upon the bookshelves I chose a book.  1916.  She asked me if I wanted to read it.

I said no.

Sit back down.  Story not over.

She let me choose another.  1216.

Okay.  I hopped into that one and found out I was a traveling minstrel that overthrew a kingdom with my tales and enactments of liberty and justice.  The people took over the kingdom!

Power to the people!

And then they stupidly trashed the place, lost the kingdom back to the royalty.

And killed me.

The End.

So that was fun.

But the food was miserable if you got any.

So.  I came back.  Because I didn’t want to miss dinner.  We were having food.  Food that tastes good.

But that doesn’t explain my recovery to you.

Because it wasn’t my trip that was the trippiest trip.  It was Shelley’s.

I don’t know why I was chosen to be her hypno-guide.  But I was.

And she took herself to the future.  Around the year 3000.  She was traveling around in some other galaxy.  According to Shelley’s script, I asked him a bunch questions, but due to the circumstances they sounded quite inane.

And this guy, who she said looked like silverware, got tired of my interrogations and dumped Shelley like she was space junk.

I had to go through the void and reel her back in.  The zero g’s and vastness of  space gave me the icks.

I guess I’m not great at intergalactic travel.

Beam me up, Scotty.

Back into my box o’ fun.

So are you game?  Wanna take a past life trip?  Contact me.  And Fun Your Way out of the Box!

hypnosis · inductions · past life regression

For about a month now, I can’t stop thinking about black holes. I don’t know why.

Black Hole Eating a Light Snack

Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have a preteen daughter with a voracious appetite.  And then there are her friends.  Who for some reason always show up right at feeding time.  They have appetites of equal insatiability.

With all this food being thrown around, Macy the Dawg is always on hand. She is a strong contender in the food frenzy competition.  She could hang tough with Man vs Food, win, and forgot she just ate.

It’s amazing we can keep any food in the house.

So with all these people eating–yes my dog is a people, just ask her–and all food particles being sucked into a vacuum, my mind can’t help but turn to space. And to Albert Einstein. And to Stephen Hawking.

It appears that some scientist guy is trying to dismantle their Black Hole Theory and mess with the wordage. I’m all for messing with the wordage, because that’s pretty much what I do all the time, but Stephen Hawking, in his mechanical voice kind of way, kind of made sense to a non-science-y girl like me.

And this guy. Um. Doesn’t. Well, maybe he does, but I kind of fell asleep while trying to read the first sentence of his theory.

Whoa! Did you know that confusion is an amazing hypnotic induction?

To say that I was confused was an understatement.  So that explains the meditation I went through yesterday, after reading this article.

So I was in deep again.  And since I was hypnotized, I could talk to inanimate objects.  So of course I chose to talk to a black hole.  And I asked it why it was so hungry.  And it said it was because all it ever ate were light meals.

I get it! It always eats stars and lights.  He had a great sense of humor!

So I offered it a more filling solution.  “Why don’t you eat some heavier stuff.  Here’s a load of black dreck negativity.  It matches your decor.”

“Why, t’anks!”  And it ate up all we had in the house.

But it wasn’t enough, because usually I’m a pretty upbeat person.

I gave it my mother’s address.  Can you believe that still wasn’t enough?

So I asked if it wanted to eat up the negative economic outlook, world famine, Cancer, AIDS, poverty, terrorism, Donald Trump’s hair and Heidi Montag’s rack o’ implants.  So it did.  And in my trance, the world became a nice sparkly place.  It was a very nice fantasy.

From which I awoke.

But I felt good, and choose to believe that the black hole was more satisfied.  Because I thought I heard a loud, reverberating belch.

Better out than in.

So if you have some stuff, you’d rather have out than in, like maybe any extra negativity hanging around, try feeding it to a black hole.  You’ll be glad you got rid of it!

Fun Your Way out of the Box!

Albert Einstein · black holes · hypnosis · inductions · light snack · meditation · release negativity · Stephen Hawking

Last night, despite my normal inclinations, I allowed myself to be rolled up with the sidewalks at dark time.  By that, I mean I went to bed at 8:30 p.m.

Why?  Because.  For some reason I was exhausted.  Must have needed a recharge of those Energizer Bunnies that power my wheely-wheel.

So into bed I plopped.  And in the morning, I awoke relaxed, refreshed, and in-vick-erated!

The in-vick-eration endured; Macy took me on a nice long walky walk.

Now, if you’ve never been on a walk with an unruly aerobic enthusiast like Macy, it can be compared to being dragged around the harbor by a killer whale with a jet pack.

Or maybe this guy:

Anyway, after this turbo-charged session, whatever in-vick-eration I had was spent.

With the in-vick-eration spent,  I fell deep into meditation.

And in this meditation.  I um, meditated.  And.  Did I mention, I went in deep?  So deep.  I got to the bottom of the well.  The very, very bottom, where the drain plug was.  And under the drain plug was a long, curving drain pipe that led to the bottom of the bottom.   Where lurked some deep-seated issues.

Inky black and oily of substance were they.  And as I was in hypnosis, I was able to converse with these shadowy creatures.  Who are you?  And where do you come from?  Why do you torture me?  And how can I vanquish you?

So we talked.  And spoke of hurts from the past.  Deep, unhealed wounds of my childhood.  And I asked these wounds, what would you like?  How can I make you feel happy?

And they said, “It is dark down here.  We need some light.  We need some love.  We need some fun.”

Wouldn’t ya know, that right at that moment popping into my hand was a little flashlight on a string.  If you are as old as I am, you will remember these flashlights from the Ice Capades Shows at Madison Square Garden.  That is, you will remember them if you lived or hung out in the Greater New Yawk Arear.

In the dark, at that Square Garden of Madison, kids of all ages spun these crazy lights of flash around enthusiastically.  I, in my enthusiasm, tended to whack everyone and everything within a two-mile radius of me.

The tarry beings merged as one and took the flashlight from me gratefully, spun it around and whacked me in the head!  Suddenly the cavern within me lit up with millions of whirling flashlights and the laughter of children!  I felt light and fluffy.  And got whacked in the head.  A million times more.

Nothing like a whack in the head to bring you out of a trance!  Whew.  That drain hole was getting kind of cramped anyway!

If you need to shed your anti-matter darkness, call me!  I have plenty of flashlights!  Fun Your Way out of the Box!

healing old emotional wounds · hypnosis · meditation

So the title I entered up there.  Just like the Word Press Instructions instructed.

And the write-age goes.  Here.  Or to be precise, the type-age.  Because I’m not going to wreck my monitor by using a gel pen on it.  They didn’t put that in the instructions, but I figured that out, even though I’m not certain what I should type and not write.

Maybe I should hypnotize myself and let my automatic writing skills kick in.

If you think you’ve been confused by my blog before, wait till you check it out when I’m on autopilot.  Should I let that autopilot guy take over? I hope he’s not as goofy looking as that autopilot guy was from the movie Airplane.

I’m not sure exactly how to work the cruise control on this thing, so we might go just about anywhere.

Like the hole Macy has been digging in the garden for the last 5 years.  It is, like, her opus.

Macy's Underground Tunnel to Nowhere

Or maybe we would like to go on a Macy exploration of the bush?

Macy exploring the bush.

That’s her feet and tail sticking out.   As she goes deeper and deeper.  Into only a place she can get to.  It’s her favorite secret place.  Like the place they send you when you are in a state.

Of.

Um.

Of relaxation.

Ahhhhhhh.

Wait! I am writing. Focus. Do not hypnotize self…

Get back on topic!

Adventure.  Or creating one out of nothing.

Like this blog.  Is like a blog about nothing.

Wait…  didn’t Seinfeld do that already?

Never mind.  Let’s just let Macy take over from here.  I’m going to go hang out in her hole and make an adventure from the ground up.

Join me!  I have openings for adventures on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays.  Grab me on my contact page to schedule your adventure!

Fun Your Way out of the Box!

adventure · airplane · auto pilot · automatic writing · fun your way out of the box · hypnosis · seinfeld