Musings on Hypnosis by Certified Hypnotherapist Donna Sherman, CHt

Today is the Autumnal Equinox and that means something.  Perhaps it means something different to everyone. My take on it - is that it is about BALANCE. That sweet sweet spot in the middle of things. The place where you work as hard as you play. The place where you are true to yourself as much as you are flexible. The place where your lightness equals your heaviness.  The place where no one person, place or thing owns you.   But your passion is free to rise up for all. Finding Balance in life is no easy feat, but today, the Autumnal Equinox,  when the day meets the night right in the middle..a template is given. A celestial reminder.  A gentle little slap to the face.. A loving shake to the shoulders. A whispered voice from the cosmos breathing the word "Balance" in your ear and then: "seek it". I hope you take the time to experience your version of the Equinox-however it feels right for you to.

Photo by Donna Sherman Have you ever heard the phrase "in order to hold onto a moment, you must let it go?" This is a difficult concept for us humans.  When we love something, or someone, the urge to grab on tight is strong.  And this will usually be the motivating factor that will, eventually, makes us lose precisely what it is we love. An enduring paradox. I found myself thinking about that paradox as I read a fantastic article that addresses just this. Here is an excerpt: "....internal, psychological experiences exist on an inverted curve because they are both the cause and the effect of the same thing: our minds. When you desire happiness, your mind is simultaneously the thing that is desiring and the target of its own desires. When it comes to these lofty, abstract, existential goals, our minds are like a dog who, after a lifetime of successfully chasing and catching various small creatures, has turned and decided to exact that same strategy on

Photo by Donna Sherman As many of you know,  I took some time away from my practice this past summer. As I tell all of my clients;  you can never underestimate the value of isolating any issue and examining it fully.   When a decision is made to do this, change and evolution can flow.   I took a very deep look at my own strengths this summer.  And that means, of course, examining areas of weakness as well .   Going forward, “How can I best serve my clients?”  was the question foremost on my mind.  To answer that - I looked at my own passions.    I was drawn to hypnosis first and foremost as a means for personal discovery and growth.  And it is in this arena where I am at my most effective and can, indeed, serve my clients in the best ways possible.   The field of hypnosis is enormous and most fascinating.  It is like a mountain with infinite pathways leading upwards…. Different kinds of paths, different kinds of journeys.  So many things to experience and le

  By Paul O. Zelinsky What is is that plagues you?  What keeps you up at night?  What robs your joy, your potential for happiness or even just peace?   I would hope; nothing.  But if there is something…. If there is something, do you know exactly what that something is?  Can you name it?  Often calling it what it really is can help you overcome it.   Many of my clients come in saying they suffer from stress or anxiety, but these terms can be too general to fight.  Digging down, identifying what is really the source of the stress or anxiety helps to corral it, shrink it down to a size to overcome it.   This fairy tale might help.  Fairy Tales, are by their nature; hypnotic…. When our imaginations are engaged in a well constructed story (as these tales often are), we escape the confines of our rational, logical world and we problem solve, even if we do not know that is what we are doing.  Our deep subconscious minds engage emotionally and this can allow us organically wi

Photo by Donna Sherman I am thinking outside the box more and more these days.   Which is what a good Hypnotist needs to do because, Lord knows, we already know too well what’s in the box. And what we seek probably isn't . It's January and I am thinking about Betrayal, Forgiveness and Redemption. The first one is easy for humans, the second two; not so much. And yet they are all 3 bound up together are they not? I have had clients come to see me to find a way to move past betrayals and being that I do not have superpowers to cause the Betrayer to be struck dead,  or the situation to disappear ...I have to offer them something else. While  not leading them to any path I have in mind; I can hold their hand in the dark and offer flashlight to light the map they already have in their pocket.  Hypnotherapy can help one see they at least have a map... Hmm, what is this map?  What does it lead to?   A map to PEACE in their own heart about it. Which when

Photo by Donna Sherman I am not sure that this post has anything at all to do with Hypnosis, but I am writing it anyway. We'll see what happens.... Everything is indeed connected , all actions begin with thoughts often born from emotion. All of these aspects originate within us, many times in response to what is outside of us.     In this sense; this is about Hypnosis because Hypnosis is about the power of suggestion, after all. Our vast technology has changed the landscape of our interior worlds profoundly.  It has given us a knowledge of events and opinions far greater than in any time in human history.  And, like all knowledge, once known, it can not then be UN-known.   I’ve written before about the sense of bombardment.   Things coming at us from everywhere… The news,  the arguing,  the imagery, the advertising… There is a subworld online and outward  that we’ve created and like the proverbial Frankenstein’s monster, it reaches out from ou

  Artist: Vladimir Ku sh  Happy April.  The most painfully exquisite month of all. Now April has been called “The Cruelest Month” and for me personally, I could surely believe this. But I am choosing to see it’s beauty instead. As I have said in so many different ways from my very first blog entry here….its is all what we tell ourselves... which comes from how we look at things...the  language and way we use to describes things, even to ourselves….changing our perception deep down; changes the reality. Changing the reality, changes how it makes us feel.  This is not the same thing as ignoring reality! I came across a study recently, I don’t think it is a new one, it has been put forth in various ways…. Unfortunately, for this one  I did not bookmark it, so I don’t have the exact statistics….but bear with me; because you’ll get the somewhat brilliant point just the same! A bunch of people were asked the question: “ Is it ok to have a cocktail while you