I met Suzanne through a reference with whom I had seen a dramatic life turnaround with her help. My experience with hypnosis had been watching people on stage at a show and did not really believe that sitting in a chair with someone talking to you could make any real difference. Fortunately, seeing is believing and I was willing to give it a try after seeing positive results in someone I knew personally. The irony is that I was initially not sure what I wanted to be hypnotized for. Suzanne was able to delve into my current life situation and determine what it was that I needed most at that particular time. I had recently become unemployed and was looking for another executive position with a small technology firm, something I have done over and over again in my career but disliked each time.

Finding a new job can be a daunting process, especially when you are trying to prove to a founder that you could be the difference in their small company. There is always doubt about your capabilities and ability to perform even with a past success record.This self doubt is always there to some degree and there is a natural resistance to recount your successes and what is best about you when you are starting over. Questions of “will I be able to master this new technology….how long will it take for me to prove my value to this company….will I be compensated appropriately starting all over again” all are lingering in your mind as you talk to different start-up entrepreneurs. What Suzanne does well is bury these questions and replace them with the opposite suggestions which would be “I have done this 5 times successfully so far, why would this technology be any harder to learn than the last 5….. the time it takes to prove myself is not relevant, the fact that I do bring value to any company that I work with is important…..compensation begins with how much you can assure your new company that you will be successful and I know I will be successful.”

The amazing part of hypnosis is, that if done correctly, you don’t even realize it and I did not know these suggestions had been anchored in my mind when I left Suzanne after our sessions. Instead, I chalked up the time to a pleasant experience and enjoyable conversation but did not feel any different than when I initially came through the door. It was only after year that I could look back and ask my self “how did I end up with two VP positions to choose from within the first month after our sessions” and realized it was because I had lost fear and doubt and was running on a new confidence engine that had been tuned up by Suzanne. I would recommend hypnosis for anyone looking for at new employment because the difference in an interview between someone who “knows” they can bring value and someone who “questions” their value is an impression that can make or break your opportunity.

I am not sure if there are more pills to cure disease or if there are more actual diseases in the world at this point. One thing is for certain, all of us at one time or another has taken some type of pill for some sort of symptom. We don’t even have to have an actual disease or illness, merely a symptom to reach for that little pill bottle. We take pills when our head hurts, when we can’t sleep, and we feel nauseous. There are not just aspirins now, but aspirins for backache, headache, arthritis, migraine, joint pain, muscle aches and the list goes on. We even take pills to get ourselves to do what we want to do but are just unable to like: losing weight, quitting smoking, or sexual compulsiveness.  We take pills when we have low energy or if we are too hyper. We even take fertility pills if we want to get pregnant or sexual enhancement pills for better sex. We take pills to control our OCD or any other undesirable condition that we may suffer from.The list is endless and I will bet for any symptom, there is a pill somewhere to make it better. And it makes sense to us for why suffer through life if we do not have to with all these annoyances.

All of these methods of “fixing” ourselves are legal and accepted in our society today. We don’t think twice to reach for an aspirin if we have a headache or a sleeping pill if we cannot sleep. Do we ever wonder why we are getting that headache or if there could be a reason behind the constant stomach pains or need for internet porn? We don’t think twice of giving our child a pill for that ADD or learning disability he or she might have. In fact  we feel we are helping our child to do and perform better by giving him or her a pill to overcome their “disability” or inadequacy.

Do we ever stop to think what that little pill might be doing to our bodies and our minds? Our minds start to learn to rely on these “helpful” synthetic chemicals, such that we know if we get a headache, relief is just a pill away. Or if our stomach gives us agita, relief is just a plop, plop or fizz away. But is this how we really want to go through life, with synthetic man made chemicals to correct for life’s twists and turns. Our bodies become a vast wasteland when we think of how old we will live in relation to how many grams of chemicals we toss into our bodies and that excludes all the chemicals we ingest from food processing and other means of pollution on a daily basis. It is very rare that any of us in this polluted and fast paced hectic world today does not suffer from some sort of “aliment” be it high blood pressure or headaches. The list is just too long to even think of. And even if we don’t suffer from any particular symptom, we  take something to prevent getting the symptom in the first place such as pills to boost our immune system.

Would it not be better if we could allow our minds to help in controlling our bodies?  Would it not be better to allow our minds to heal our bodies naturally? This can be done through hypnosis. Through the art of hypnosis one can stop smoking, learn to relax enough that they no longer need a pill to wind down, or help get them to a better state of mind to have more energy without having to take that stimulant, to be able to focus more or eat less. Whatever the desired result, hypnosis can assist your mind in allowing your body to do what you want and desire for it to do naturally.
The Physicians Desk Reference is a huge book, and it contains hundreds of pills, drugs and medicines all designed to make our lives better. I question the fact that these drugs always improve our health. In many cases, they are needed.  In many cases maybe they do improve our health. In all too many cases, not only are they not needed, but there is an alternative that is not as easily reached for in our society because it is not as advertised or drummed into our minds as much or as easily as reaching for that pill.

Hypnosis is thought of as an alternative medicine. Alternative medicines are not always thought of as our first line of defense when we have a health issue. You will not find hypnosis in CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid. We tend to automatically reach for the easy and quick fix, that pill. Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of the underlying cause of the symptom be it a simple headache to insomnia. If these symptoms and ailments are chronic and bothersome on a regular basis, and if you have just had enough of treating the symptom and want to treat the cause to prevent the symptom, perhaps hypnosis is a possible alternative to simply popping that pill.

Hypnosis can help you conquer just about anything that you might want to take a pill for, and there are no side effects. Taking one pill for one symptom sometimes causes another separate symptom for which you take another pill. With hypnosis, there are no side effects, and you will deal with the issue at hand not creating any others in the process. You will overcome what it is that ails you from sexual compulsiveness to drug addiction to insomnia without creating any other issues in the process. Taking too many aspirins can cause an ulcer. Isn’t it better to deal with the headache, before you get that ulcer? Isn’t it better to allow our bodies own natural chemicals to do the healing? Our bodies have the natural ability to produce the chemicals we need to live the comfortable lives we want, we just have to know how to access them, not to be found in a bottle or in CVS, Walgreens or Rite Aid.

Note: Hypnosis for medical issues is to be used in conjunction with your medical professional. Referrals from medical professionals are required under the law of most the states in the United States and many other countries for your own safety.

Article written by Donna N.

I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere thanks for the quality and thoroughness of your therapy services. Your genuine concern for your client’s well being and commitment to a successful outcome was evident throughout the time that we worked together. I especially appreciated your willingness to continue to work one-on-one to perform follow-up months and even years after the services were first performed. I feel that you went well above and beyond the call of duty and I would not hesitate to recommend your services to others seeking a caring, compassion and dedicated hypnotherapist.
 

One would think that telling someone that you care would be as natural as eating and sleeping. In all too many cases this is not the way it is. It wasn’t until I read an article written by Victoria Rosner for the New York Times titled “Shall I let My son See His Dying Dad?” that this hit home for me.

When I read the article on my computer it had reminded me of a situation that occurred in my own life.The article was about a 2 year old boy who never knew his father. His father had walked away from his mother when she was pregnant with him. He just could not deal with the responsibility of having a family, it didn’t mean he didn’t care, or did it? How was this two year old to know?

When the father of the 2 year old found out he had months to live, he decided then he wanted to know his son, and for his son to have the chance to know him. The father sent a letter asking the mother permission to contact the boy. The mother to her credit allowed the father to have contact with the boy, despite all the advice of “friends” telling her things that although may have been true on some level such as “He left you and he doesn’t deserve to see his son”, she instead forgave whatever she had to allowing her son to know his father. (See January 2010 newsletter on Forgiveness.) Being allowed to see his father enables him to have a lasting sense of security with the knowledge that his father cared about him.

The article I read was originally titled “Shall I forgive Him one Last time?” and I find it rather interesting that it took having a date of dying for this father to realize that he wanted and needed to have the relationship with his son. It seems for when we know that we may not have that chance, we are more apt to act, rather than take one another for granted. Perhaps it would be better for everyone if we could just take the time now to show we care.

I realized that if my father had told me occasionally that he loved me, that he cared about me, that he was thinking of me even though he did not live with my mother and me, it would have made all the difference in my world. A simple call letting me know he cared about me would have been enough. Had my father occasionally sent a card or called on a birthday, had taken a few moments of time to show he cared, it would perhaps be a lot easier for me to believe him today, 50 years later when he says “I love you“. Left unspoken only my father knew in his heart that he cared. He never conveyed it to me or anyone else for that matter. Because it was left to the imagination, it became skewed and distorted over time.

To know that this man cares about his boy regardless of whether he could support him, or be a father to him for whatever reason, is probably the most important memory he will have of his father when he thinks of him 50 years from now or maybe even tomorrow. To just know that he was loved and cared for in his father’s heart means more than all the money, fancy houses and toys that could be bought. To just be told this and have it occasionally reinforced can mean everything to a person. Sometimes it can be even more important than having a parent there 24/7. Is it that hard to send a card, or to pick up a phone?

Too often we go about our daily lives assuming people know how we feel. It seems like they should just know, but do they? Why is it so hard to tell someone you care? Probably because it is easier to assume they just know. People need to be told they are cared about and appreciated.

In an article by Rick Nauert, PhD, titled “Emotional Wealth Trumps Financial Wealth” August 10, 2009, a study was done “…what we’ve found is that while money may be able to make people live more comfortable lives, it won’t necessarily contribute to life’s pleasant moments that come from engaging with people and activities rather than from material goods and luxuries.”

I know another person who has all the money in the world however is very alone and miserable. She was born into money and has never had to work a day in her life. She has no real reason or passion in her life, no reason to face the day. She constantly tries to buy love and companionship with her money. She has no sense of self love or worth and no purpose to her life. Even though she has all the money in the world what she is unable to buy is someone to tell her she is loved or cared for. She is unable to buy someone to tell her she matters in this world. It is a proven fact that money cannot buy happiness proven by all the countless lottery winners who end up broke and miserable. Money can never buy the love or care of another human being.

The simple act of telling someone you love or care about them can really turn a life around and make a huge difference in someone’s life, or even save a life. Hallmark Greeting Cards makes millions off this fact, and there are a million songs written as well on this fact. Stevie Wonder’s “I just called to say I loved you” comes to mind, amongst many others.

Had the people that showed they cared in my life not have shown it when they did, I may have felt isolated and alone as my cousin did and hanged myself. The fact that a few people really showed they cared about me made a huge difference in my world. There are billions of people in the world, no one should ever feel that alone.

Take Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sounds Of Silence” “…a rock feels no pain and an island never cries.” When a person feels alone and as if no one cares they begin to feel void of their emotions to the point of becoming dead inside like a rock. They become increasingly more isolated and depressed, unable to live life. They become like a rock on an island.

In another study reported in the Scientific American, June of 2008, researcher Steven Cole of the University of California L.A. reported that people that suffer from chronic loneliness show a change in their gene activity which could predispose them to all sorts of illness from a simple cold to deadly cancer.

Too often people assume the other person knows how they feel.People need to feel other people care and they need to care about other people as well. It gives people a reason to live knowing they are cared about and have others to care for. Too often it is taken for granted. Too often it is left unsaid. Too often it is said too late.

Tell someone you love and care about them today. If you find it difficult to get in touch with your emotions for one reason or another, hypnosis can help you get unstuck, so you can once again feel the emotions that are so vital to one’s life. For it is when we can feel our emotions that we can feel empathy for another which is the basis for all fulfilling relationships.

Article written by Donna N.

Are you ready for profound change?

Perhaps like me, you have been on the path of healing and/or recovery for years, but have not been helped enough to be at peace or resolve reoccurring unwanted patterns in your life. Perhaps no one has been able to truly understand you or your pain and you feel alone, isolated, misunderstood, or ignored. Working with Suzanne can break that cycle of disappointment and discouragement once and for all. You will find no greater truth seeker and no better advocate for your greatest good. She was not only a skilled hypnosis practitioner, but a fearless warrior for my highest intention and deepest needs. For the first time in my life, I feel I have someone supporting me who truly has my best interest at heart. Suzanne stood with me through every step of the difficult process of regaining my own identity and self-esteem. Her unwavering commitment to my healing helped me reconnect with the my inner caretaker and self nurturing instinct that had been buried so long ago. I am now confident that wherever my journey takes me, I will be able to embrace it and use it to enrich my life and the life of others. I will be forever grateful for Suzanne’s help and recommend her to anyone who is ready for profound change and healing.

Sincerely,

L.K. McCarren

If you are like me you have the tendency to avoid change like the plague. You wonder how the people that thrive on change do it, for some people do love changes in their lives.
Whether you love it or hate it, fact of the matter is change is a good thing to have occur in our lives.

From my experience fighting the inevitable changes that life has to offer you is a waste of time and energy. By learning to flow with these changes I have been able to create some opportunities which I wouldn’t have otherwise.

In the recent past I found my self in an unbearable living situation. I was not happy there for many different reasons, though comfortable in the routine that I had been living for the past 14 years. It was so hard for me to leave the comfort of that routine, that I made up all sorts of excuses as to why I should not make the move. The longer I resisted the change the more reasons I made up to not make the move putting things way out of proportion. Eventually I came to realize that I could not continue as things were After the move I realized that the negativity that surrounded me in the old place created the fear in me that I would not be able to afford my own place. That the people I was living with wouldn’t be able to make it without me and a lot of other excuses to keep me in that negative environment that was oh so comfortable for the misery that it brought to me.

Now that I am in my new place I have found a sense of empowerment that I never thought I could realize, the most important of these being that I can overcome my fears and found strength that I never knew that I had, along with an inner calm. I know that if I didn’t make that change things would have continued to destroy me. As a result of the move all sorts of wonderful new opportunities have come my way that I never could have realized had I stayed “stuck” in the resistance to that change.

As we go through life, change is going to come up whether or not we want to deal with it. If we continue to ignore these changes long enough they can create enough stress to ultimately kill. Changes that come up that may seem negative to us, can if we look at them from a different perspective become that which frees us, from what is creating the habits and behaviors that are actually harming us.

It is when we ignore our bodies call for action that all sorts of health issues arise. Some people choose to smoke to release their stress, some people over eat while others will drink, drug or gamble while still others have depressive thoughts or issues relating to anger. It doesn’t really matter how the destructive nature displays itself. What matters is that you listen to what your body and mind are telling you to address and then to address it.

To grow we must embrace changes in our lives. If the change we pursue starts out positive and turns out to be negative, we need to turn that negative into a positive, learn from it and then release it. (see the “Forgiveness” December 2009 newsletter).

I believe that all negative changes can be turned into positive changes with the right frame of mind. Getting to that frame of mind isn’t always easy, especially if one is in the midst of a negativity.

Hypnosis can help you transition through life’s difficult changes by dispelling the overwhelming feelings that created the resistance. It teaches you how to deal with these situations in the future allowing for a much better quality of life.