Hypnosis: Using the Power Within You
All of energy, all of power, all that can exercise any influence over your life, is in your hands through the power of thought. God-good-is the only power there is. Your mind is part of His mind. He is “the Father that is within you that doeth the works.” So don’t put any limit upon His Power by trying to limit your capabilities. You are not in bondage to anything. All your hopes and dreams can come true.
Time after time throughout the Bible we are told that the battle is not ours-but the Lord’s. But like all children, we know better than our Father how our affairs should be handled, so we insist upon running them ourselves. Is it any wonder they get so tangled as to leave us in the depths of discouragement?
~Robert Collier The Secret of the Ages
I speak often about manifesting and raising your vibrations in order to attract the right people and the right circumstances to you so you can move forward. For some of you out there, still seeing manifesting as a challenge, I have a suggestion. Believe me; I have had my moments, just as you have, and more than once I have been told by the few people that can get away with it: “maybe you ought to go back and read your own blog”.
There are many ways to change patterns and behaviors. In my work, I help you find the answers, but in reality that is only part of the journey. Albeit, the most important part IS to find out the why, but often the question I receive after an intuitive session is “what next?”
As I continue to grow and develop my beliefs, I am more and more convinced that the power to change is within each of us. Our willingness to change can be blocked by fear, scripting, and negative patterns, as well as the energy of the people around us. The bottom line is that we get in our own way. Our logical mind cancels out the manifesting or replaces what we want with what we BELIEVE we can get. And often we believe we will get what we deserve. We settle for what we logically think can happen.
One way to bypass the “blocks of logic” is through hypnosis. I invite you to shift your perception of hypnosis, step out of the realm of smoking cessation and weight loss and look at the OTHER benefits of hypnosis. First and foremost, hypnosis gives you the tools to help you shift.
The “CHt” after my name: Catherine Schrenker, CHt stands for “Certified Hypnotherapist”. I am a former member of the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) and served proudly as a faculty member before moving forward to other endeavors, (most currently running a non-profit craft and music school in Southwest Virginia). I have decided as I move into 2023 to begin practicing hypnosis on a limited basis (since I do have a day job that keeps me busy) and rejoin IACT: The International Association of Counselors and Therapists. In part, I want to use my talents and skills to help individuals in recovery, pairing my past training and experience with my current position as executive director of this phenomenal school of Appalachian craft and music. It is all connected -and my journey over the past forty years is all starting to make sense.
I decided to write about hypnosis because I have had quite a few inquiries about hypnosis, I proudly hang my diplomas on my office wall and I really don’t advertise it. I realize I should, because I believe in it. My friend and colleague, Janice Manson states years ago on her website: “Hypnosis is the fast, safe, easy, drug-free, and totally legal way to achieve the positive, lasting change you’ve been searching for!”
Well, it is. And for those of you that are working with affirmations, you are also working with hypnosis, as they are a form of self-hypnosis. Color is also a method of self-hypnosis, particularly when coupled with affirmations, and like affirmations, color works on several levels within your physical, mental and spiritual planes. Self-hypnosis works IF you are motivated; self-motivated, that is. When in need of a jumpstart, think about visiting a hypnotist or hypnotherapist* to help you get “unstuck”.
* State licensing is what makes the difference, it is the same training, but the title varies from state to state.
In August, 2007 I took a course sponsored through NGH to become a Diabetes Motivational Coach. C. Devin Hastings taught a wonderful two-day course which opened my eyes to the vast benefits of hypnosis. There is an emotional basis for every dis-ease, including diabetes. Even though I had worked as a medical intuitive for years, I was naïve enough to think “knowledge is power; you know why you are sick, now you can fix it”.
It could be that simple in reality, if the clients believed it but how DO you get to the believable part? Devin’s class focused on helping clients with their A1C levels by giving them tools to manage stress, helping them with healthy food choices, water intake, and many things that those learning from diabetes have to be conscious of, but often are not. So, hypnosis is a tool to help you get on track and keep on track with smart, healthy choices.
The other secret of hypnosis, successful hypnosis, is to set your sights on attainable, believable goals. Just as you would affirmations, in fact, I often refer to hypnosis as “accelerated affirmations” because they do jumpstart the process.
As an intuitive, I can help a client understand the emotional origins of their tissue issues, as a hypnotist I can help a client achieve the shift he or she needs to make to ensure lasting changes.
If you look at the emotional basis of dis-ease and can bring about a shift in thinking with hypnosis about your body, your life, and/or your relationships why would that not have a positive impact on your health? Hypnosis does not replace your traditional medical treatment, and often your doctor can refer you to a hypnotist if you have been diagnosed with something and would like to complement your current care. Hypnosis is a true partnership in the mind/body connection.
Stress is a major cause of many health issues and dis-ease. It would make sense to reduce stress and improve health. I would like to go further, as it is not just making an appointment with a hypnotist to reduce stress, it is about discovering the origin, the TRUE origin of the stress and then employing hypnosis to allow you to bypass your logical, conscious mind and access your subconscious mind so you “unlearn” negative beliefs and replace the negative with positive beliefs.
How many of you out there KNOW you need to drink more water to improve your weight release efforts? Have you tried hypnosis to help you hydrate? Many do not think of hypnosis in that light. How about using hypnosis to shift the way you think about exercise? Hypnosis can provide the gift of shift.
How many of you have been attempting to shift your current circumstances but are still feeling stuck? Or perhaps you need some help overcoming a fear or a habit? Hypnosis can also be used to improve performance and success.
The other day I heard a report on NPR about a history professor using the “meta-verse” to teach his students about certain historic events. I thought, “Hypnotists have been using the “meta-verse” for years in the form of Past Life Regression! I also had a conversation with a friend about the benefits of “magic mushrooms” LSD, or psilocybin…try hypnosis first, and I highly recommend a Past Life Regression…I have never done any of those treatments, but have talked intently with those that have and the comparisons are attention grabbing.
Where does Past Life Regression fit into all of this? Past life regression is a form of hypnosis. With some clients our first session is a regression in order to find the root cause of their situation, and then we follow up with hypnosis to help replace previous scripting with new, positive beliefs. You are in control at all times with hypnosis and you will go to the time and the place that will provide you with the answers you seek. Once those answers are discovered, they can be released and new beliefs, dreams and goals can be established.
Don’t worry about whether or not you can be hypnotized. Have you ever driven from one location to another and thought “I am here already?” or if you have been so absorbed in something you did not hear what someone said, or were oblivious to things around you? It is a wonderful tool to help you move forward and can often be done in 4-6 sessions. So think about what you are having difficulty with and decide about whether hypnosis would be a wonderful way to help you get out of your own way!
To find a qualified hypnotherapist in your area, check out the IACT website or the NGH Website.