Well it has indeed been a widely varied week with all kinds of hypnosis related phenomena in the news, across the web and across the blogosphere.
It is a funny thing, I complain about it a great deal… That is, hypnosis getting lumped in with anything and everything alternative… A little while ago, someone said to me “Oh yes Adam, you’re that hypnotherapist chap aren’t you… I’ve got a friend who is an aromatherapist…”
I looked back quizzically. Then said, “and you’re that accountant aren’t you? I have a friend who is a botanist…”
Ok, so I should have understood that people make connections and helped to advise and educate differently…
(further sarcasm alert) So I am considering joining the campaign of the Java and Lampung branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)… Why?
Well, it is because they have urged TV stations to stop hypnosis-related programs due to the violation of Islamic values. This hypnosis article at the Jakarta News states:
“Scientific hypnosis is allowed, but hypnosis with the assistance of curses and supernatural creatures is prohibited,” Syafe’i, head of the edict committee from the Java-Lampung branch of MUI, said as quoted by Antara news agency.
However, since hypnosis was misused to injure and rob people, it would be better to declare the status of hypnosis as forbidden or haram.
Syafe’i said the branch would recommend the MUI ban the programs.
Yes, I agree, hypnosis with the assistance of curses and supernatural creatures and those using hypnosis to injure and rob people have led the world of hypnosis into the sorry state it is in and simply must be removed from television screens. There, I said it.
Yes I think they should be banned from TV… Along with those aromatherapists who are wafting lavender oil around, for holding up and robbing banks, oh and homeopaths wielding rescue remedy to tame man-eating, fire-breathing dragons to do their evil bidding.
I read this interview with a hypnotherapist over at the Torronto Daily Star and was delighted to hear that Luke Chao adopts a non crystal-wielding approach to hypnotherapy, which he is obviously quite proud of… Instead, Luke “crawls into people’s brains”… What? Like those worm things that killed Chekov in the Star Trek film The Wrath of Khan?? No Adam, they would have slithered into peoples heads, something more like the aptly named earwig or a common spider are more likely to crawl into peoples brains…
When asked the question “What makes a good hypnotherapist?” Luke responds by saying:
A: Empathy is one thing. Probably the most important ability is the ability to put aside your preconceptions and your thoughts and your beliefs. The term I use is, you “crawl into your client’s brain.” You crawl into their brain and you look through their eyes, and with no judgment, you get an idea of how they came to be the way they are. And then you leap out from there.
With language being such a key tool in hypnosis and hypnotherapy, it is great to read such beautifully used words being used to describe the hypnotherapy process, words that are free from conjuring up sinister imagery, eh?
Ok, let me stop with the irony and get on to some good stuff… Here in the UK a progressively minded dental surgery have introduced the services of a hypnotherapist to help ease the anxiety that some people still have about going to the dentist.
This hypnosis article at the Northants Evening Telegraph states:
A hypnotist will coax terrified dental patients back into the dreaded chair at an open day designed to eliminate fears about going to the dentist.
Mawsley Dental Clinic is holding a free session tomorrow for anyone who is scared of visiting the dentist or has other fears about treatment.
There will be a hypnotherapist on hand to talk to people about how hypnosis can help patients worried about having their teeth checked.
And goes on to say….
“We have a relax room for patients and a hypnotherapist who can help people before they see a dentist.”
The hypnotherapy sessions will be held by Anne Widdup and can help patients who have panic attacks, a phobia of needles or other dental instruments, or other concerns associated with visiting the dentist.
Good stuff! I wish more dentists would consider doing the same, and even hospitals and clinics…
This week I watched Usain Bolt smash his own world record for running 100 metres… Wow-wee, that man can run!!
This article at the BBC interviews ex-olympic sprinter Darren Campbell about what the sprinters go through as they prepare for a race at the world championships. Darren mentions the use of self-hypnosis in his own preparations:
“Sometimes the night before a final I wouldn’t go to sleep until 2am or 3am. The key is, how much sleep do you need to perform at your best? I needed seven hours sleep, so if I went to bed at 3am and then woke up at 10am, that was fine.
“The final isn’t until the evening, so you if you get a nap in during the afternoon, that’s happy days. I learnt to meditate and do self-hypnosis.
“If there was a problem, I was able to put myself almost into a trance to relax me. It sounds extreme, but it can be horribly tense out there.”
I like to hear that. So many sports stars are in trances so much of the time, though very few of them have used a formalised self-hypnosis process like Darren Campbell does. Usain Bolt seems so care-free and at ease prior to a race and he always talks about how he is relaxed right up to the point where he is asked to get on his marks…
There was lots more this week… Heck, I just like to share the things that pique my own interest, positively or negatively… And the things that make me laugh and cry… Until next time…
