Do you believe in the power of hypnosis?

Absolutely, I have been a poodle for two years, ever since I we saw a hypnotist's show in Vegas. My wife has learned not to put her hand near my mouth while I am eating, but really hates having to put me outside each evening.

We are in a hypnotic state when we watch TV or a movie, even while reading a book or surfing the web. Anytime you are engrossed in a project or fascinated while watching a construction site, you are in an "altered state." We frequently drop into a hypnotic state while driving so that we can daydream or think about what we will do when we get where we are going. Watching a fire will put us into a hypnotic state. It is perfectly natural to drop into hypnotic states while awake, so why not when a hypnotherapist induces one? Powerful psychological healing can occur in these induced states when initiated by someone trained to guide you. There are people who are resistant and those who will drop into a hypnotic state easily, and everything in between, so there is no one-size-fits-all when dealing with the human mind. But in general, as a trained and certified hypnotherapist, I have found this is a powerful tool.

I basically believe in it, except it didn't work when I tied to use it to quit smoking.

It was pretty real for me, I quit smoking for a few months. I smoked one, and it broke the spell... A friend who went with me, never smoked another one.

20 years ago in Santa Barbara I underwent a hysterectomy in the care of a wonderful board certified anaesthesiologist who also did hypnosis. Believe me, it works 100%! I also needed no post-surgical pain meds, and my full recovery was only a matter of days. Kudos also to my surgeon, who had never done a surgery with hypnosis before. I wish more people had access to this kind of care.

If you properly trick the mind you will be amazed what a person is capable of achieving. Just think of all the years of telling people that is impossable was instead. Yes you can. Just think of the possitive creative and greatly productive views would of come about to make real change in this grim world of ours. The Churchs knows the power of the mind and masterd in warping it for some time. Learn from them the true power of controlling minds.

After getting hypnotized myself I was curious and learned how to do it. I have seen some amazing things done with the help of hypnosis. There are many things I believe that hypnosis could do - and would like to try them; unfortunately, now that I have studied hypnosis, I have not been able to go under again (I unconsciously critique the hypnotist's technique).

The problem (and blessing) of hypnosis lies in people's lack of understanding as to what it really is. As Jaguar mentioned people are often in a light hypnotic state without ever realizing it. He forgot to mention that having sex also puts many people in a form of a hypnotic state. All hypnosis does is allow a person to control their body and mind with minimum interference from the "rational" part of the brain which filters all of our actions and thoughts - telling us what we can and can't do.

The repetitive training of some sports (martial arts and fencing for instance), the mental imagery used by many athletes, and the accumulation of years of repetitve thoughts (positive and negative) all accomplish the same thing - getting our mind to react a certain way without thinking about it; hynosis can do the same thing - only faster. Of course there are limitations, and the imagery and practice are still necessary. Our minds all to often limit our abilities. Hypnosis simply allows us a way to bypass (though not completely) that limiting part of the brain. The hypnotist has no special powers - we do all of it ourselves; the hypnotist is merely a guide.

Those who have not had success with smoking cessation through hypnosis - should not necessarily give up on it. Many things effect the success of the hypnotic suggestion - the depth of the trance state, the type and wording of the suggestion, and the desire of the participant. A certain combination of hypnotist/trance level/type of suggestion may work very well for one person and not so well for another; but the second person may respond very well to a different combination. It should be remembered that hypnosis is not a cure - it is merely a tool like other tools.