What Is Hypnosis? Its History and Definitions from the Founders | HEKA TRANCE-formations

No. You hear everything, you can stop at any time, and nothing happens that you do not agree to. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You do not lose control in trance; you learn to use it.

Nothing bad. The worst case is that you drift into a nap and wake up the ordinary way. In every session I bring you back gently, and you can bring yourself back whenever you choose.

Done well, hypnosis is gentle, and the usual worst outcome is that nothing changes. It is training, not medical care. If you are under a provider's care for what you want to work on, I need their written referral first.

It depends on the person. Dr. Spiegel puts it plainly: for some people, one session is enough. In his research, about one in four smokers who had a single session of hypnosis had still not smoked two years later (Spiegel and colleagues, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1993). Others need a refresher, and that is normal. Why it lasts: you are not borrowing a feeling from me, you are learning a skill. Once you have felt your mind shift, you know the way back, and you can use it any time you need it. His research found that five minutes of practice a day lowered people’s average breathing rate by about one breath a minute. When you would want more: when the stakes go up, when life adds pressure, or when you are ready to go further. Think of me as your personal trainer for the brain. Just like a good coach, as you get stronger, I take you further.

That is not something I do. Memory is less reliable than most people think, even without hypnosis, and what comes back can be shaped by the questions asked. My work looks forward: the moment you are preparing for, not digging up the past.

Most people can. Children drift in and out of trance all day; call one in for dinner and see how long it takes. Adults keep plenty of that ability, and it can be measured on a simple zero to ten scale. You do not have to be a special kind of person. You only have to be willing.

Think of a movie so good you forget you are watching one. That is the doorway. Hypnosis is three things working together: your attention narrows to one point, everything else fades into the background, and for a while you get to try on a different way of being. Focus, a quieter world around you, and room to change.

Three shifts. The part of you that scans for danger and distraction turns down, so small noises stop pulling you away. The part that plans and directs takes the wheel. And the inner voice that keeps replaying who you think you are gets quieter. That quiet is why change becomes possible. Stanford has watched all three happen live on fMRI, the brain scan that shows which parts of the brain are working hardest from moment to moment.

It does. Some voices pull you in and some push you away. That is why the first thing I send you is a free recording in my voice, so you can decide for yourself before we ever meet.

Yes, and it is the work I love most. Stanford tells the story of swimmers who were faster in practice than in meets. In practice they stayed with their own bodies; in meets they watched the lanes beside them. Once they trained themselves to stay with their own stroke, the meet times came down. That is the skill I train: attention that stays where you put it.

It can, and the method is simple. Instead of fighting the seat, you float with the plane. You treat the plane as an extension of your body, the same way a bike or a car is. And you learn to separate what is possible from what is probable: the picture your mind paints is vivid, but vivid is not the same as likely.

I work on what you are for, not what you are against. Tell a mind not to think of a purple elephant and a purple elephant is all it sees. So we build something that feels good from the first session: respect for your own body, and a cue that serves you instead of the old one.

For one person, Zoom. You are already in the place where you feel safest, so your body settles faster, and the change happens where you live, not in a room you will never see again. No drive there, no drive home. For a group of two or more, a team, a family, an office or a barn full of riders, in person is better. Everyone hears the same voice at the same moment and the group settles together. That is when I come to you.

Don’t trust me. Trust yourself. Where do you feel safest? Your favorite chair, your bedroom, your office with the door closed, or your car, parked with the engine off. Never while driving. Pick the place where you would take a nap without thinking twice.

Yes. They are the one thing not to skip. My voice goes straight to your ear, so every word comes through clearly, and they shut out most of what is around you: traffic, the TV, a barking dog, an office. Fewer interruptions means you go deeper and stay there longer. Any pair works, earbuds or over-ear, wired or wireless.

The bigger, the better. A laptop, a desktop or a flat-screen TV is best, and a tablet is the smallest that works well. Avoid a phone if you can: the screen is tiny, it is harder to lock in, and calls and texts are one tap away. Set your screen on something steady instead of holding it.

Yes. Sessions start at thirty minutes, from home, the office or your parked car. Give yourself a few minutes afterward before you drive, fly or jump into your next thing.

Nothing bad happens. You come back to full awareness on your own, like waking from a nap. Rejoin the same link, or call (406) 404‑6988, and we pick up where we left off.

If you can open a link, you can do this. Charge your device, put your headphones in, and open the Zoom link a few minutes early so nothing is rushed.

No. NLP works on language patterns. This works on your state: a custom visual, music with a focus rhythm built in, and my voice, designed to bring you into deep focus so you can rehearse what you want inside it. And you don’t have to take my word for it: if you wear a Muse, you see what your own brain did.

How to go from the thermometer to the thermostat. A thermometer reacts: the pressure goes up and it goes up, the pressure drops and it drops. Most people live that way, their stress and cortisol rising and falling with whatever happens. A thermostat sets the temperature and holds it. I train you to be the thermostat: to set your state and keep it there, through focus, brain training, meditation and hypnosis.