The Weisbrod Theory of Psychic Separation is an idea I put together as I taught my first class in 1967. This is a scanned copy of the original sketch--a better copy can be found in the workbook that accompanies this eBook. I would draw something like this on a blackboard--in those days, even overhead projectors were considered hi-tech--and explain it something like this: The numbers below correspond to the numbers on the diagram. We receive perception (1) from our five-senses and a microsecond before perception it's stored in the recallable section (2) of the subconscious even before it is perceived (3). We than pass this new information through an analysis process (4) sometimes called the censor function. It then re-enters (5) the subconscious in the recallable files and activates related stored information. This stored information then reenters the conscious and is perceived (6). A comparison is made from the two perception "screens" and (7) a value judgment is made based on the comparison.

On the left side you will see a gate labeled "sleep block." When thisgate is closed there is sleep and no perception reaches the conscious. When dreaming, the sleep block is fluttering (RIM) and information enters primarily from the subconscious.

The other gate is at the "analytic block." When this is completely closed the individual is hypnotized and is dependent on the input from the hypnotist and makes value judgments accordingly. Or there is just enough space for new information to slip through, and is funneled into the unconscious to become a function of deep recall or hypnermnesia.

The Diagram at the left is another 1967 original with another original sketch bleeding through. The professional graphic version is on the right. Both are discussed in the workbook. I used the first to show how different categories of hypnosis relate to one another. Below is the model I used (before I developed the Allegory Method) to phrase suggestions for self-hypnosis. Graphic art by Samantha McTighe

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Now let's see what I thought about Self-Hypnosis in the days of yore. I defined it as a state of being that can be termed hypnotic, and induced and controlled by the subject. In those days we would give the subject something called a post-hypnotic key. It was a word or phrase that was planted as a trigger to enter the hypnotic state. I think we kind of ripped-off the idea from the Transcendental Meditation folks (or maybe it was the other way around.) We sometimes suggested (called the prestige suggestion) that the subject simply had the ability. Hypnotic devices, such as the Powers HypnoDisk, were popular, and the taped induction had just arrived--it was still the days of the reel-to-reel recorder. Cassette tapes, however, were just around the corner.

In my practice, I always taught self-hypnosis after the first couple of sessions. I spent perhaps 15 minutes on the process, so it had to be simple. Starting in the mid-seventies I used a memo pad, something like a physician's Rx pad. Here's an example--that would be handed to a patient at the conclusion of a session:
That memo approach lasted several years--people liked it, and just the other day someone said they still have that memo (I guess, yellowed with age) pinned to their desk, and they still do the process almost every day--I love hearing stuff like that!

But as one who never leaves well-enough alone, I went on to publish a little booklet. I'm gong to also reproduce that for you because it's simple and adaptable for use with your clients.

If you want my latest you will find it at my website >www.wdsLibrary.com< The newest program is extremely involved and would take hours and pages to explain. It is a process called The Weisbrod Thought Flow Inventory, and takes a couple of days to wade through--and that's before you even start the self-hypnosis process. The hypnosis process, per se, uses two of the most refined and sophisticated allegories I've written to date.

"Self-Hypnosis is powerful and easy to learn. If you develop the skill and the use it every day, it will cause dramatic changes in your life. Whey then is it not more used by everybody?

The answer is simple. From birth we are encouraged to think in terms of language and logic. Educational priorities place little emphasis on visualization, imagination, and even creativity. Throughout our lifetime we learn most about the environment that surrounds us rather than how we function inside.

If you learn more about your imagination and how to control it, you will get in touch with your uniqueness and have a better chance of developing your creativity. This will give you the freedom to efficiently set and reach goals.

Have you heard it said that we use only 10% of our brain? This is not correct! I don't know where that ridiculous idea got started, but in truth the brain is our most-used organ--or perhaps the most misused.

Self-hypnosis is to the right side of the brain what physical exercise is to the rest of the body.

I hope the fact that you are reading this means that you intend to change you life by learning and practicing self-hypnosis.

If you are serious, here is exactly what you need to do. First you need to read this booklet over several times until you have a good nuts-&-bolts (left-brain) understanding of the mechanics of hypnosis. You would not consider digging into the guts of your TV set without some understanding of the mechanics and function of television, and you need the same attitude about tapping into the resources of your mind.

The next step is to set aside some time for practice. And in this case, practice means for the rest of your life. The good news, however, is that this practice gradually becomes routine and effortless. It takes about 21 days for the self-hypnosis exercise to become routine. The best time is without a doubt in the morning, either as soon as you wake up or right after you morning physical routine. The reason for the morning time is that there is a "window" of flexibility at the waking time. As the day progresses, we become more rigid and less open to new ideas. (Refer to the Time Management section in Problem Solving Workbook-ask me for a reproduction if you don't have it.)

The third step is to establish a model or ritual that activates a "focused attention" toward the part of the mind where the self-image resides, and the concept of uniqueness. For this I have produced training and conditioning tapes that you listen to at your morning practice times until a personalized routine becomes established. The more routine the feelings referred to as self-hypnotic. *If you didn't get a cassette tape with this book, refer to the Allegory called "Two Rooms" in the catalog in the back portion in this book. [*ed note: at this time this allegory is only available with the full self-hypnosis program at http://askcarl.net]

A good place to start with your education as a self-hypnotist is to learn a little more about the brain function referred to as visualization or imagery. Visualization & Imagery © 1986 C. Weisbrod

"There is no doubt that the most powerful way to develop goals or make major life changes is by creating mental images. That's why all workshop and seminar courses that develop motivation use imagery techniques. The fabulously rich men of the early part of this century discovered the one thing they ad in common was a fine-turned imagination. Recent brain research has made it clear why this is true and how it works.

The imagination uses half of the cortex of the brain-usually on the right side. The left side is more in charge of language. When the right side receives left side input, it converts the words into pictures. The pictures can then alter or fortify your belief system in such a way that motivation is produced. It works like that for everybody unless a stroke or injury severely damages one side of the brain.

Some people believe they do a poor job of forming pictures in their minds. When they try to picture something they say they "draw a blank" or see only blackness. This is never correct! If you could not form pictures in you mind you would not be able to recognize you closest friend, find your car in the parking lot, or describe a favorite possession. About five percent of the population has what is called a photographic memory. These fortunate people are able to form vivid mental pictures in almost perfect detail. For the rest of us, however, the images are less vivid.

Dreams are mental images, and everybody dreams. You can analyze your type of imagery by thinking about how you dream. If your dreams are vivid and realistic you have pictorial imagery abilities. If they are more vague and symbolic, you image in a more conceptual way. It makes no difference whether you dream with vivid pictures or form nondescript and symbolic concepts-the effects are the same.

In the same way, it's not so important how the images form in your waking mind. It is important, however, for you to take some control over this dynamic mental function. You really can't do much of a job of developing goals or changing behavior patterns without developing imagery techniques.

It's not difficult to develop better image formation. For example, if you were an accountant and suddenly became an artist, you picture-forming abilities would improve dramatically. Mental functions, just like physical functions, improve with exercise. Our formal education improves left-brain functioning, but little emphasis is placed on improving the right-brain function. Meditation, self-hypnosis, and mind-expanding seminars are examples of processes designed to control and improve right-brain functioning. So lets get started.

[Ed. Note: The latest (Current Edition) includes the Weisbrod Thought Flow Inventory (W-TFI) and is too involved to be included in this eBook. It can be found at >www.wdsLibrary.com<

"Hypnosis is not some esoteric trance known only to a few mystical types who like to burn incense and get weird. It's also not something you can learn by reading a book or practicing once or twice.

Hypnosis is a system that accesses the right hemisphere of the brain, more commonly referred to as the imagination or subconscious. Hypnotized folks appear to be in a trance because the right-brain "thinks" internally. The right-brain tends to function independently from the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, and these five senses exist to keep you in touch with your external environment. The left-brain, to the contrary, is activated strongly by the five senses. For this reason when the right-brain or imagination dominates, the person gradually loses touch with the external environment, and even loses touch with the physical self. When this happens there is an observable formation of a sluggish, wax-like appearance. This appearance is often characterized as a trance.

Why do we have to be taught to sue 50% of our minds,? Shouldn't it be natural? There would be far less problems in the world today if we could more efficiently control this essential mental function. We do, in fact, use the right-brain as much as the left-brain, but often wastefully. Guilty feelings, fantasies of revenge, jealousy, phobias, obsessions, and failure mechanisms are only a few examples of a right-brain that is functioning poorly.

The reason most of us have brilliant left-brains and retarded right-brains is that we live in a technological society-a society that forces us to focus on the side of reality that is rigid and black-&-white.

From birth, most of us have language, mathematics (numbers and symbols), and rote memorization jammed down our throats as an educational priority. Visualization and conceptualization (the internal environment) are definitely placed on the educational back burner.

Developing the left-brain's ability to put technological information to work in a unique and creative way requires some increase in the sophistication of your right-brain's function. If this creative ability is lacking, you are doomed to work for (or be dependent on) someone who does have it. The following true story is my favorite way to illustrate this point.

In 1971 a 72-year-old man (I'll Call him Henry) came to me to learn self-hypnosis. Henry was worth over half a billion dollars! I couldn't imagine why someone so astronomically successful would need anything I had to offer.

Well, it turned out, he really didn't. He just want to find out if the mental techniques he had been using for 50 years had anything to do with self-hypnosis. At first I thought it was doubtful since self-hypnosis was only recognized in the early 1950s.

One surprising thing about this incredible person was that he could barely read or write. In other ways too, he did not fit the mold of an intellectual or the financial superstar that he was. He told me that his success was originally motivated by a year of terror in the trenches during the First Word War. Partly because of this lack of education, the army thought of him as kind of expendable. He ended up in some of the most intense battles of the war. Seeing death all around him and as the bullets whizzed by, he vowed that if he ever got out alive, he would never again be exposed to danger and misery.

In 1917 he believed that the only way to protect himself would be to become rich. He felt he had no talents or resources to parlay into money. He therefore decided to become a butler and work for the rich. He thought he would eventually figure out how they got their money and then do the same thing. He got a job at an exclusive New York club. After a while he got the courage to ask some of the very rich members what they did to obtain their wealth. Much to his disappoint and surprise he received a worthless collection of clichés and moralistic proverbs: "Keep your nose to the grindstone and shoulder to the wheel." "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Etc.

The conversation, however, caught on around the club as some of the members realized that they really didn't know if there was anything that set them apart. Over a period of months, the conversation persisted and the members compared attributes and business styles. They could find no common thread until, quite by accident, they found that each of them had a single but striking ability in common!

They all had an extraordinary ability to visualize. They all had superb ability to "see" and manipulate pictures in their minds. Even more interesting was they had all used this ability to create their empires. They would visualize (daydream, fantasize, conceptualize) that which they wanted to create until every detail was crystal clear in their minds. As they actually accomplished what they had visualizing, it seemed almost like the second time around.

Henry got the message! He quickly realized this is what he had been looking for. With great excitement, he started practicing ever morning. First he learned to see (with his eyes closed) the furniture in the room he was in. It was difficult for him but he was determined as anyone could be with such a battlefield commitment. Then, he worked on visualizing things from his memory. After he accomplished that, he worked on his ability to visualize future images. Visualizing future events turned out to be Henry's most important accomplishment.

He developed an image of himself as a buyer and Seller-the one thing anyone can do regardless of their educational level. His first such fantasy was the process of selling some can-openers he brought cheap and was able to make a dime profit on each. Henry told me one of his rules was to buy when everyone was selling and sell when everyone was buying, then reinvest the profits. He said that by far his most important rule was to always visualize his way through every decision. Throughout his life he never varied that rule.

As a side note, I was surprised when he told me that the level of mental effort was about the same for a can-opener sized deal, as for a multi-million dollar real estate deal. Meeting Henry had a significant impact on me. From that time on I focused on hypnosis techniques that would create clear mental images, rather than suggestions that were mostly verbal. For example, if a goal was to relax someone, rather than say, "I want you to relax," I would say "imagine yourself laying on the beach watching the palms sway in the breeze-and feeling the warm sun on your body-and hearing the rhythm of the waves rolling in at your feet…" Note that even in this brief example, three sense memories are activated-sight, touch, and hearing.

If you will attempt the following simple experiment, you will understand better why this principle works so well.

First try this: I want you to think of your mouth. You know that in your mouth you have salivary glands that secrete saliva. Now I want you to increase the flow of saliva in your mouth. Concentrate on your mouth. Concentrate on your mouth and salivary glands and increase the flow of saliva in your mouth. Can you do it?

Now try this: I want you to imagine you have in your hand a yellow, juicy, sour lemon. Imagine now that you are sinking your teeth into that sour lemon-picture doing that in your mind's eye. Feel that sour lemon juice squirting into your mouth and imagine that sour taste on your tongue.

Of course the picture of that lemon will create a much more powerful reaction than the direct suggestion. Notice that is not even necessary to believe (consciously) what you are imagining.

Remember the movie, "JAWS." I saw that movie and it scared the hell out of me! Of course I knew it wasn't real-a real-live shark was not really eating people. A couple of months later I saw a documentary on how the film was made. They demonstrated the apparatus that made the fake shark look so real. I wondered what would happen if I saw JAWS again. If I held a picture in my mind of the mechanical shark, would I be immune from fright? I thought if I kept an objective orientation during the scary parts, I could sit through the whole thing with no fear… but I forgot about that "dum-dum-dum" music! The "dum-dum-dums" ground it's way through my logical mind and triggered almost as much fear as I felt the first time. Even though I tried hard to keep my logical mind focused on the fact that the shark was really plastic and hydraulics, my imagination took over and created reactions of horror just as the director of the movie had intended.

Can you understand from this example that the imagination can be much more powerful than the logical part of the mind? This means that just because you accept something as "a logical fact," it is not necessarily "a fact" in your imagination. So if you want to really cause an idea to stick, you will present it such a way that the imagination gets it directly.

Now, here is another important principle of the production of the hypnotic state of mind.

In the 1960s, I had a Seattle, Washington clinical hypnotherapeutic practice. In those days, stage or entertainment hypnosis was quite popular and was often performed in nightclubs and theaters. Those of us doing clinical work were critical of the entertainment hypnotist. We felt superior because we had academic credentials, and we felt stage hypnosis degraded a serious science.

Nevertheless, every chance I got I would take in these performances, always observing with a critical eye. Finally I was forced to admit to myself that I could not duplicate (even in a clinical setting) what these performers accomplished night after night in a noisy nightclub. So I swallowed some pride, got acquainted with a couple of these performers, and learned the stage-hypnosis trade. I even went on the road for a while.

What I learned during my performing career has turned out to be more important than anything I learned in a classroom. To this day I still believe that most good stage hypnotists are better on their worst days than most clinical hypnotists. Stage hypnotists achieve the most dramatic hypnotic responses in the most difficult environments.

I have never written this until now, so you are getting some inside information that (as far as I know) has never before been put on paper. Here is the basic rule that all stage hypnotists use supporting their spectacular hypnotic responses.

Never make a suggestion to a hypnotized subject that will not be believed. If a suggestion is not believed it will be rejected on all levels and subsequent suggestions will also be rejected.

Have you heard of someone who went to a hypnotist and returned saying: "I don't believe I was hypnotized." A good guess is that the hypnotist made the error of suggesting something that was not believed and was therefore rejected. This will invariably cause that person to discount the rest of the hypnosis process.

The stage hypnotist simply gets the people he is hypnotizing to believe what the audience does not believe. One of the parts of my old show was to choose someone, like a burly truck driver, and send him into the audience responding as a small child would who had "lost his mommy." I knew I could make that work if I could produce any one of the three following conditions:

1. If the "truck driver" had found within him the natural ability to regress back to vivid memories of childhood and react only from those memories, blocking everything else out. This ability is called somnambulism. If you have ever walked in you sleep you've experienced somnambulism.

2. If the "truck driver" was not somnambulistic, he still might have the ability to tap into this natural ability to role-play and respond as if he was a small child and had lost his mommy.

3. Or, it would work even if the "truck driver" would rather go along with the hypnotist's game rather than face the embarrassment of being resistant, thereby disappointing the hypnotist and the audience.

The stage performer learns to quickly recognize which one of the three responses is in operation. It won't matter which one (of the three) because the entertainment value will be about the same. It will, however, influence what other activities he will consider from the same volunteer.

If you refer back to (#1 above) you will see that there was belief based on the ability to tap into childhood memories to the exclusion of all else (somnambulism). In (#2) there was the belief that he could perform exactly as instructed with no inhibitions. In (#3) the belief was that it was better to go along than to resist.

In the stage show, every word that is said and every action that is called for is designed to set up this belief environment. These stage shows are made to seem chaotic, but each routine is carefully designed to lead to the next part. Let me tell you from painful experience that if at any time the volunteers lose the belief that they will respond exactly as instructed, the show is over! More than once I experience that entertainer's nightmare-called the BOMB!

So now can you understand the relationship between getting scared at a movie and the antics of a hypnotized volunteer? If you shudder with fear as you watch an actor pretending to be eaten by a plastic shark, your response is not unlike the antics of the hypnotized volunteer. What your imagination believes internally can be as powerful as an external reality.

The stage hypnotist gains more experience in a year than most clinical hypnotists do in their career, and they understand and follow some important rules often not understood by the clinician.

But there are other reasons why the clinical setting does not always produce spectacular results. In the nightclub setting the theme is "fun & games." In the clinical setting it is often "pain & suffering" or even "life & death." The imagination is much more available in a child-like "fun & games" setting. The stage show's dialogue is written to suggest fun ideas that are outside the normal range of experience.

Clinical work is usually done in the realm of current reality-reality that is often painful. The thought patterns are part of what all psychotherapy is about, but the clinical hypnotist often attempts to plow through in a single session.

Here are some basic rules that you need to follow if you want to develop the technique of self-hypnosis:

1. Plan to do the technique every day for 5 to 10 minutes. It will work better if you do it as soon as you wake up in the morning. Think of self-hypnosis as you would think of physical exercise.
2. Start out with an exploratory frame of mind. Do not get locked into any particular technique at first.
3. Do not prejudge how hypnosis should feel or what it should accomplish for you. Analytical preconceptions tend to block hypnosis by locking you into left-brain thinking.
4. To save a lot of time, allow an experienced person to assist as your guide at first. However…
5. Do not develop any long-term dependencies on any therapists or external mechanism such as tape recordings.
6. Expect you life to start working better in about three months.

There is an endless array of commercial techniques to develop the right-brain. Some are marketed as self-hypnosis programs but more often they have their own trade names. Examples are Silva Mind Control, CyberVision, and PsychoCybernetics. Often they are weekend classes or tape-recorded programs. Many of them are excellent. You must realize, however, that the least-effective program that is practiced is powerful and the most-effective program that is not is worthless. Do you remember what Henry accomplished with his simple "home-made" technique?

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Decades ago, when I became interested in hypnosis, do you know what the appeal was? I felt it was tragic that people tended to be their own worse enemies. I perceived hypnotism as a technique that could bypass a person's destructive self. People, especially in those days, often shrank back from such a thing that would take away their control. Control of what? The ability to continue screwing-up their lives? Hypnosis could help people become friends with themselves.

I have used hypnosis consistently in my therapy all these years. I have always looked for better ways to deal with the tendency some have to resist hypnotic suggestion, thereby unhappily hanging on to their internal conflicts. I looked for ways to reach the part of the mind where change happens, beneath the resistance.

Let me digress for just a moment. Hypnosis, as I view it, is no more or no less than a dialogue with the brain hemisphere that is sometimes referred to as the imagination, right-brain, or subconscious. [Ed. note: it's interesting to note that hominids with our exact genome have been around for millions of years, but the brain liberalization that made possible an imagination has only existed for approximately 100,000 years.]

Whatever the term you use, this is where the hypnosis process settles. This mental place contains the elements of personality, character, and self-image. Carried here are also the "stories" that are the defense mechanisms. These mechanisms block solutions to problems or conflicts. It is this internal mind that tends to rule over, in subtle ways, the pathway through your internal environment The left-brain understands, dictionary-style, words and numbers. The right-brain understands such things as inflection and body language. The right-brain attaches belief and attitude to everything you left-brain receives from the external environment. An important part of this idea is as follows: the right-brain does not know most of what it knows.

This strange statement simply means that the right-brain functions more on a subliminal level. The stuff of the right-brain is not so measurable or definable as the stuff of the left-brain; try to define love, or example.

The job of the hypnotist is to speak to the right-brain with minimal meddling by the left-brain. This is not so mysterious. It's part of all routine communication. Everybody constantly receives and transmits body language and subtle inflections of tone and phrase.

I was looking for a dialogue that the left-brain could hear but only the right-brain could understand.

Remember, a more important value of hypnotism is not what occurs at the time of the induction, but what later pops into the mind at important moments, i.e., the post-hypnotic suggestion.

In the late 1960s I invented the Allegory Method. I'm satisfied that it's the best I can produce as a hypnotherapeutic suggestion form. I'm convinced that it is the best format to deliver suggestions into the mind of the resistant patient.

A dictionary definition of allegory is: "a symbolic representation, a narrative in which abstract ideas are personified."

[ed note: I've frequently heard the common misconception that an allegory and metaphor are essentially the same thing. This is not correct.]

To make an allegory work it has to have qualities that make fairy tales and Biblical stories appealing. Fairy tales and parables have a quality that guides the imagination, allowing the mental images to flow. Another useful element of the allegorical story is surprise. Resistance can be bypassed if there is an element of sudden discovery. Allowing the listener to develop one group of ideas, and then suddenly reverse the focus, can accomplish this. A great use of the allegory is the humorous anecdote-the joke.

Here is one example of an allegory that goes back half a century. My father, a prizefighter turned Realtor, had a bag of manipulated tricks, He was a member of the city's planning commission and loved to squabble with the other members. He instinctively learned to insult by using an allegory. His is one anecdote he used to project his disdain:

"A man was driving his can in the country when suddenly the rear wheel, rim and all, flew off and the car skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust! Upset, the man retrieved the tire, jacked up the car, put the tire on the drum, but could not find the lug nuts. "Now what am I going to do?" he muttered, "no traffic, no houses around…" And to make things worse he realized he was stuck right next to the Oregon State Home for the Insane! He then noticed one of the home's inmates was kind of hanging in the cyclone fence about 50 yards away. This poor unfortunate wretch, with his wild hair and crazy eyes, was motioning to the motorist to come over to him. Cautiously, he walked over. "Why don't you" the inmate squawked, "take a lug-nut off each wheel? You will still have 4 on each wheel and then 3 for your broken wheel. If you drive slow, that's enough to get you to town." "Hey! What a great idea!" And so that's what he did. Before he left, he walked back to the inmate to thank him for the idea and said, "If you can solve problems so well, what are you in this place?" The inmate responded: "I may be crazy but I'm not stupid!"

Dad said than among his repertoire of barbs, this was the most effective, and he wondered why it worked so well.

Years later I understood why. Dad had bypassed their critical and analytical minds and some of their ability to censor and reject. The commissioners had, in their imaginations, identified with the motorist and probably projected the crazy inmate's persona to my father. The punch line then put the shoe on the other foot. They had no choice, on a subconscious level, to have a sudden feeling of stupidity. Since they were somewhat intellectually disarmed by the humor in the story, they were at a momentary psychological disadvantage. This allegorical approach sneaks up on the intellect's blind side.

Notice that in this example the point made is not at all related to the story itself. This is a good example of an allegory, but, of course, not one I'd recommend for therapeutic use. It's an easy way to illustrate the structure and function of one type of allegory.

A constant and frustrating problem in psychotherapy is the patient's resistance to change. This is particularly true when working with characterlogical problems. Patients sometimes hang on to their defense mechanisms with profound stubbornness. The harder you try to get them to let go, the more resistant they become. So I invented Alpha The Atom.

I used a non-person symbolism as a way to sneak around the ingrained defense mechanisms. It has two important features: (1) it minimizes the possibility of triggering subjective identification, and (2) it creates non-specific mental images. Even with all my attempts to sugarcoat the message, the very defensive patient will find the message distressing, but without a clue of the reason. So many patients have dislike this innocuous allegory that it has proven beyond a doubt that this message strikes a bulls-eye in their defense mechanism-remember, defense mechanisms are primarily a right-brain function. (That's the major reason it's difficult to talk someone out of a defense mechanism with logic.)

I have a Habit Elimination Allegory that has the listen develop a desire for a prisoner to escape. The listener will be baffled by the character's fear of the outside world, knowing adjustment will happen with the far better outside-world environment. The prisoner at last escapes, just in the nick-of-time. This will produce feelings of relief and freedom. The hypnotized patient will have a diminished awareness of the link between a prisoner's renewed freedom and the freedom as (for example) a non-smoker. The new or unknown information presented by the allegory is that lack of awareness (as the prisoner was unaware) that freedom had been lost and forgotten consciously. I relates the serendipendous birth of this allegory at the next heading.

In a Weight Control Allegory the goal is to present the physical body as a survival tool. The patient will perceive a marooned situation automatically bringing about positive results and exploding the notion that magical cures are effective. This idea needs to fit in with the counseling part of the therapy. Weight control therapy requires much work on a nuts-and-bolts level.

The Stage Fright Allegory has a goal to switch the patient's polarity from an anxiety producing mode: "be interesting," to the externally focused mode: "be interested." When the therapist plants this seed, energy will be redirected from the internal feelings of the sympathetic nervous system run amuck (fight or flight) to a far less threatening external focus. The autonomic nervous system will then function in a parasympathetic (intellectual) mode.

I believe the allegory format is the best therapeutic approach available. An important advantage the allegory provides is the response to hypnosis is not as critical as with more directed methods. Even so, the required visualization causes an increased right-brain activity supporting more profound hypnosis. I've observed for years that most people can only handle from six to nine symbolic message in a string. After that, the right-brain becomes dominant and they are hypnotized. This happens even without a formal induction. Another advantage is that the allegorical messages can be quite appealing and created a parent/child transaction. Allegories can be so symbolic that the patient will get the message only subliminally and perhaps get the feeling that a magical event has happened, something of an ego-boost for the therapist. The only negatives are the time and experience necessary to create complicated and highly symbolic story lines-for me that has been the fun part!

Allegorical messages are designed to "click" into the right-brain's belief system. The message that is at least partially embedded in symbolism will often transfer back over to the left-brain intact and unanalyzed. It can then be acted upon as a new idea, attitude, or insight. At exactly the same moment the defense mechanism tends to weaken, thus reducing the conflict. As this thought transfer takes place, the patient might have an "aha" experience. To understand better, consider again the punch line of the joke; think of the right-brain suddenly handing the left-brain a ridiculous and funny mental image. Since the right-brain can form unanalyzed images that the left-brain can't relate to, these perceptions can either seem comical or trigger altered or revised senses of reality. The general term for this is cognitive dissonance. Sometimes the right-brain is unable to transfer a highly symbolic allegorical message back to the left-brain. When this is the case, the message motivates from the right brain only, producing a completely subliminal affect. As you can see, allegories can be a bit complicated-certainly more than they appear on the surface.

If possible, an allegory should be constructed with a single third person character. In cases where I suspect strong defense mechanisms, I use a non-person metaphor with very abstract symbolism. One of my allegories, for example, has an atom-like entity streaking through space. Another has an invisible space being. And in one, I even use an automobile. In any case, a central figure needs to be presented as a focal point. The story line must draw attention away from any subjective identification that will trigger emotions or resistance. Always avoid first person references since it will certainly interfere with the internal visualization process. Attempt to project yourself as a disembodied, floating voice. If the problem has a strong self-image component, you may want to use some second person allegories with a mix of past and future tenses. In the cigarette smoking allegory, the implication should be leaving the habit behind and moving ahead toward freedom. This allegory needs to be past tense and strongly symbolic. When in doubt, use third person, past tense.

Here are some more guidelines to develop allegories:
- Diagnose the target problem. Be sure you aren't identifying a symptom.
- Identify the primary defense mechanism.
- Structure the allegory to move the patient toward the solve realm.
- For physical problems, construct a freedom allegory.
- For intellectual problems, use a uniqueness allegory.
- For emotional problems, use an appropriate choice allegory

As a therapist, inventing allegories can be more fun than you can imagine and your patients will love them. They can be taped at the session so your patient will be able to maximize the value of each session.

There are a couple of advantages to writing allegories. The author doesn't need to worry about checking facts or offending anyone due to miss-quotes. Many novelists have a message of some kind that flows beneath the story and seeps into the mind of the reader on almost a subliminal level.

A problem with writing fiction to make a real-life situation is exemplified by the author of Dutch, a book about the life of President Ronald Reagan--it was from an insider's vantage point. This author, however, admitted to using a bit of fantasy to fill in some gaps. He was loudly criticized for this technique, and the book plummeted from the bestseller lists. Perhaps if the author had written this book as a novel, but let it be known that it was based on Ronald Reagan's life, it would have been better accepted.

If a technical manual is published with just a tiny part found to be in error, the entire manual goes into the trash can. This may lead to a situation analogous to "the baby being thrown out with the bath water." We tend to forgive only our own errors.

My allegories often come from personal experience and observation, referred to as empirical information.

When compared to rote memorization, information offered in a story format is more recallable by a factor of nine. From personal experience you realize something presented within a story can remain recallable almost indefinitely. Can you see how incredibly powerful this bit of information can be? To bring it home, think of this: Imagine you went to a movie. The next day a friend asked if you enjoyed it, and in the course of the conversation you related the essence of the entire two-hour movie! Even more amazing, from your description alone, your friend was able to pass along a reasonably accurate description of the movie to a third party. How many times have you heard people say they won't ruin your enjoyment of movie by revealing the plot. The same comment wouldn't be made, for example, about a film dealing with the periodic table of elements, during which rote memory is required.

What's the difference? And how is it possible to provide the essence of a two-hour film in a couple of minutes and with so little effort?

What if you had been given the movie's script? A movie script is usually only a couple of dozen pages, but even if you accomplished the difficult task of memorizing each character's dialogue, it would be difficult to describe the essence of the movie's plot by repeating the dialogue, and your friend would end up with a sketchy idea at best.You were able to memorize two-hours of story-line by simply starting with the image of an action or emotional scene, and then jumping from one image to the next, describing each image as it flashed onto "the screen" of your imagination. It's easy enough to then fill in the gaps. Your friend visualized the images as you described them well enough to retell the story. What about a story you hear on the radio or read in a book? No pictures! With an audio or printed story, your minds-eye forms the images automatically as the dialogue unfolds. The delivery system is different but the results are just as powerful.

Consider this eye-opening exercise that was popular in the 1970s. Six to ten participants were required to make it work. The group leader would position them in a circle, and write down a original message to whisper to the person in the first position--something like this: "A meeting on office procedures will be held next Wednesday at 8AM in conference room 101." Each participant is asked to whisper (one time) this message to the person at their right. And it would progress from person to person until it completed the circle. The last person would then jot down the message as heard to compare with the original. At best, it would have only a vague similarity to the original, but probably the ending story would be so much difference from the original that the group would get a good laugh! This exercise demonstrates the frailty of rote recall.

But here's an example of another kind of oral message with a strikingly different result. It's the quintessential dirty joke. A joke first told in any state would be passed along until it was recognizable in all 50 states. I once heard that it takes an average of three years for a joke to infiltrate the entire US, but I'm sure the Internet has greatly reduced that time frame.

In any case, the joke is an example of the power of an image-rich story. Even though the actual words will change, the story line, the essence, remains the same from person to person. This is in sharp contrast to the group exercise I just described.

There are a number of factors involved. First, there is the image-rich nature of the joke, and then there are rigid concepts to make a punch line work. Messed up punch lines will die-on-the-vine while those that produce the biggest laugh will survive to be passed along.

Of course in any conversation, the listener forms images, but imagine the added power when the teller is speaking in a way to encourage the formation of images. All powerful speakers use this technique.

Allegories are stories that carry a covert message that is different than the overt message of the story itself. The story is kind of the sugar-coating that carries the message. Some of the symbolic message ends up as subliminal. When this happens you have an allegory. These allegories didn't arrive as a result of my brilliance, but as a result of client feedback. Read the following transcript taken from an audio recording in which I described that first first glimmer of awareness of the power of an allegory--it started, however, as a metaphor.

"I think is was 1971--I was working with a cigarette smoker. As was my practice, I completed the session with a hypnosis procedure. Based on part of the conversation we had, it popped into my mind to use a metaphor of a prison escape...comparing this to his becoming a non-smoker...I just tossed it in as an afterthought. Gee, it was an impulsive thing, you know...and I would have forgotten all about it had not this particular client returned for his follow-up with a glowing tale of success. "Every time I thought of a cigarette" he told me "I got this sensation of walking back into that prison cell you planted in my mind..." And he went on and on about what a clever therapist I was! For heavensakes, of all the things I did in an intense two-hour session, the thing that stood out for him took place in a few seconds...I wasn't sure he had given me a complement at all.

But it happened that later that day I had another cigarette smoking session...so, once again on impulse, I tossed in a similar metaphor...And once again, I got back a similar story! "I'm on to something!" I thought to myself.

From that day on, my use of suggestion in hypnosis was forever changed. The metaphor for smoking gradually became an allegory...in other words, from a one-liner, it became a symbolic story. Then over the years, with use, it refined and refined itself; and I developed dozens of other allegories for virtually every procedure I did. I also developed a system of rules--a formula for building effective allegories.In time,

I gradually got the courage to throw out the tradional suggestion form and used only allegories, even though it was breaking the basic rules of hypnotism procedures. I discovered the tradional and more direct form of suggestions only cluttered up the procedure when an allegory was used, and therefore, completely replaceable by an appropriately structured allegory. I also found that allegories worked okay even when no hypnosis was done at all... [s n i p p e d] ...and I went on to speak of some of the things you'll find elsewhere in this eBook.

What follows are examples of allegories. I offer some sample allegories with easy-to-understand symbolism. I tried to find examples in which each had an increasing subliminal component. Keep in mind, one trick in the construction of an allegory is to use superficial symbolism to hide subliminal messages. Part of the purpose of an allegory is to sneak by someone's psychological defense mechanisms: denial, procrastination, discounting, etc. Here are some categories of message stories...

A- The Image-Rich Factual Story
B- The Affirmation with Repetition
C- The Metaphorical Story
D- The Analogogical Story
E- An Allegory with Overt Symbolism
F- An Allegory with Mixed Symbolism
G- Allegory with Covert Symbolism

As you read on, you'll find examples of Category E & F allegories, and one borderline Category G.

The Category-G allegories are offered only on Audio Cassette. For smoking elimination, weight control procedures, and the self-hypnosis programs, allegories are woven into the fabric of a program, sometimes with an O'Henry-like ending. The strongest impact for any allegory is when first heard, so presenting them in written form could compromise some of my programs.

First, I'll show you an example of a Category-E allegory. This was originally published September 1999, in WDS E-Zine #27, ISSN: 1537-2820. I called it:

~ Skunked Again! ~ "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful lady who lived in a wonderful forest. More than anything, she loved to walk in the woods that surrounded her house. She particularly loved the delightful little animals that lived there. Whenever she wandered through her forest she saw rabbits, deer, squirrels, and all manner of colorful birds. Suddenly she spotted a pretty little animal she had never seen before. It was about the size of a bunny, and just as cute. When it walked it waddled, making her laugh. It was glossy black with two white stripes down it's back. It didn't seem to fear her as did the bunnies and squirrels and allowed her approach very close. She was so close, in fact, she was able to reach down to stroke its lovely black and white coat. But horror of horrors. The instant she touched this cute and harmless-looking animal it sprayed a fine mist that smelled so horrible it made her choke. Sobbing, she ran home, shed her pungent garments, and took first one bath, then another, and still another but the horrible smell could not be washed off. The smell clinging in her clothes was so strong she finally had to bury them. For weeks the awful smell lingered causing her great misery. But finally she returned to her wonderful forest. It felt good to once again be among the squirrels, rabbits, and deer. And there for a second time, she spied the little black and white animal. This time she was more cautious. But it was so cute and seemed as friendly as before. "It knows me now," she thought, "it won't do what it did before." So, smiling sweetly, she reached down to again stroke it's glistening fur. Horror of horrors!! Once again she was sprayed with that horrible mist, sending her choking and sobbing to once again bathe again and again and bury her clothes. When she once more returned to the forest, sure enough, there was her black and white friend and as before she trusted that the cruel act wouldn't be repeated, but once again it was repeated, and once again she ran home sobbing to bathe and bury her clothes. Now she was filled with rage at this black and white devil and returned to the forest to give it a piece of her mind. As she vented her rage, it responded by spraying her once again, sending her sobbing home to bathe. She was running out of clothes to bury. When she returned to the forest to once again express her rage, and again be sprayed, she no longer had clothes to bury, so she rinsed out those she had remaining the best she could. Her friends seemed to visit her less and less. Even the rabbits, squirrels, and deer kept a greater distance. When asked why she continued to communicate with an animal that sprays such a horrible odor, she explained that at first it was so cute she couldn't resist, and after a while she became so angry it was certainly important to make this evil animal hear of her rage. The pungent odor of her clothes was such a distraction, it was difficult to decide if this was logical, but they wondered if it might not be better to learn about skunks rather than venting one's wrath at them? ~ The End ~

What follows is a Category-E Allegory with symbolism that, for the most part, remains obvious, although less so than the previous example.

~ Pauly ~ A Category-F Allegory first told July 14, 1999 and published in WDS E-Zine #23. Once upon a time there was a little boy who was as cute as he could be. His name was Paul, but he was so cute that everybody naturally called him Pauly. Pauly’s last name was McTishen. ~ ~ ~ "Everybody loved Pauly, and Pauly loved everybody as well. But above all, little Pauly loved candy. He liked hard candy, gumdrops, chocolate candy, candy bars--he just loved every kind of candy there was. To Pauly, candy was a gift from the gods. As luck would have it, just down the street was a wonderful old-time candy shop. "Selling candy of all kinds was the joy and sole income for the owner of this delightful shop. Big glass display cases sparkled in a profusion of bright candy colors tempting all who entered." Pauly came from a poor family and he had to work to help support his widowed mother and a younger brother and sister. But once in a while, on his birthday or at Christmas time, he would have an extra penny or two to spend on himself, and he would rush to the candy store to buy a gumdrop or a bit of hard candy. Whenever he would see the shop owner, Pauly would beg him for a job. He promised to work hard keeping the little shop spotlessly clean and assisting customers to make the best choice in their candy purchases. He begged and pleaded until the kindly shop owner relented and gave Pauly a job. Pauly was thrilled and grateful to have such a wonderful opportunity. And the shop owner marveled at his little employees dedication to hard work. Pauly polished and polished the glass display cases until they sparkled like jewels, and swept and mopped the floors until you could see your reflection in them. And he was so polite and helpful to the customers that they all commented how fortunate the shop owner was to have such a wonderful employee. And as much as he loved candy, Pauly would never dream of taking even one piece that he hadn't paid for. The owner even said, "Pauly, it’s okay to take a piece to have with your lunch. You work so hard you deserve it." But Pauly didn't think that would be right. He felt he should pay for what he took, just like everyone else. So, he thanked the kindly shop owner but declined to take even one piece of candy that he hadn't paid for. One day Pauly came to work with a sore throat--but declined to take the day off saying; "there are display cases to polish, floors to mob, and customers in need of help with their purchases. "Well then, I've got just the thing for that sore throat" said the kindly store owner, as he fetched a lemon drop from the display case. "Suck on this lemon drop, Pauly, and it will soothe that sore throat of yours. It’s the least I can do for such a hard-working employee." So reluctantly Pauly accepted the free lemon drop, thanking the kindly shop owner profusely--and sure enough his throat was soothed from the sweet lemon flavor. A couple of weeks later, Pauly again had a sore throat and when the owner noticed Pauly’s hoarse voice he fetched him another lemon drop which Pauly gratefully accepted. Sometime later Pauly again felt a bit of a scratchy feeling in his throat and asked the kindly shop owner if he thought a lemon drop would help. "You don't need to ask me every time" the shop owner scolded gently...so Pauly went to the display case and helped himself to a lemon drop. From that time on, whenever he had a sore throat, or a bit of a throat itch, at the shop owners urging, he would help himself to a lemon drop. And then he would have a lemon drop if he felt that a sore or itchy throat might be coming on. Pauly realized that the kindly shop owner was right; he really did deserve these tiny bits of candy for being such a hard worker. Then as a way to assist customers with their sore throats, Pauly would test other flavors of hard candy. He would try a different one each day to see which worked best for sore and itchy throats. Sometimes he would take a lemon drop home if his poor widowed mother, or his brother or sister, had a sore throat. After a while he kept a supply of lemon drops and other hard candies at home in case a sore or itchy throat occurred. He realized his little family shouldn't have to suffer--they certainly deserved such a kindness. He also started to fetch lemon drops for his deserving friends and their sore throats. Before long, Pauly would leave the candy shop each day with his pockets bulging with candy...but never very much of it was for himself--mostly it was free gifts to his friends who, as one might expect, loved him very much for his unselfish generosity. To pay Pauly back for his kindness, they sometimes patronized the candy shop, for which the shop owner was most grateful...although they didn't purchase very much, what with all the free candy Pauly unselfishly provided. The kindly shop owner suspected that Pauly was now taking a whole lot of candy from his shop, but Pauly was such a good worker, and such a nice boy, he looked the other way and never complained...even though he needed to replenish his stock of candy more frequently, and his profits were dwindling a bit. Everybody agreed with Pauly that it was okay for him to take his share of candy from the kindly shop owner as long as he gave most of it away to those who deserved it and kept only a small amount for himself. And everybody would have lived happily ever after had not the candy shop gone bankrupt due to poor management on the part of the incompetent owner. ~ The End ~

~ Squirreliville ~ A Category-F allegory written for WDS E-Zine #63 ISSN: 1537-2820 "Once upon a time there was a group of squirrels, and they all lived in a nut orchard called Squirreliville. The best-known and privileged members of the orchard were the Bushytails. This family was much loved and respected. They had more and larger nuts than the other squirrels, but seldom spoke of this wealth. Their purpose, it seems, was to help out all of the other squirrels in the orchard. The most notorious members of the orchard were the Slinkytails, and they were mean and nasty. The Slinkytails had but one purpose--to steal nuts from the other squirrels. Some members of the orchard insisted that the Slinkytails were really rats--no squirrel could be as awful as the Slinkytails. That, however, was untrue...the Slinkytails really were squirrels. And there was another family. These squirrels were less important than the Bushytails, and less thought about than the Slinkytails, but they did have some purpose, although mundane. Their name was John & Jane Squirrel. Getting back to the Bushytails; these squirrels worked very hard and, at one time or another, visited every nut tree in the orchard. Their work was to make promises, enforce rules, and distribute nuts throughout the Squirreliville orchard. John & Jane Squirrel respected the Bushytails and hated the Slinkytails who, late at night, would often rip-off John & Jane Squirrel's nuts. John & Jane Squirrel had to work so hard gathering enough nuts that they didn't have time to keep the Slinkytails out of their nut storage area. The Bushytails also hated the Slinkytails and vowed to protect the orchard's supply of nuts, and only required a few nuts in exchange for the cost of this protection. They had yet to stop the Slinkytails, but promised it was only a matter of time before this war on nut stealing would be won. John & Jane Squirrel had grown to trust the Bushytails and willingly supplied them with a large portion of their nut supply to cover other orchard needs. John & Jane Squirrel had to work extra hard to compensate for the nuts the Slinkytails robbed and those the Bushytails needed for the orchard. Their hard work made it impossible to cover all the demands on their nut supply, but they certainly needed the help from of the Bushytails. As everybody knows, squirrels are more stupid than humans. Because they were squirrels, they didn't realize that, of the three squirrel families, only one was actually gathering any nuts. ~ The End ~

~ The Calcutron & Whoopee! ~ A Category-F allegory first published in WDS E-Zine #68, August 2001 "Once upon a time there was a bunch of intelligent beings that lived on a planet called Ecom. Some especially intelligent Ecomites invented a wonderful device called a Calcutron. A Calcutron was a wonderful machine that could process information at the speed of light, so this wonderful invention was made available to all Ecomites. It was thought that the Calcutron would greatly accelerate positive social evolution. Along came some very gifted Ecomites that created an index for the Calcutron and, because of its lightning speed, the entire population became instantly indexed inside every Calcutron. These gifted Ecomites were excited about their contribution to the population of Ecom, and believed the Good among them would become better, and the Bad would become Good. What could be better than that? These inventors were so thrilled with their accomplishment that they had named their invention "Whoopee!"...which fit their mood at the time. These happy inventors then made a gift of their marvelous invention to all Ecomites that possessed a Calcutron. Ecomites, unfortunately, were conditioned by a planetary force field that influenced the kinetic energy of both the Good and the Bad and caused individual minds to resist mental polarity changes. The Calcutron did support the Good into becoming better, but sadly, the Bad became worse. The result of this kinetic polarity was that Whoopee! became contaminated by the energy of the Bad. The Good thought of the Bad as those that were really the Good that were just confused, so instead of blaming the Bad they blamed Whoopee! for the contamination. The Whoopee! inventors were fatigued from their work and needed energy from their fellow Ecomites to continue. Because of the activities of the Bad, Whoopee! became increasingly contaminated as the needed energy was withheld. There is no longer information arriving from planet Xcom so it's left to your imagination to write the final chapter. ~ The End ~

~ The Dog Catcher ~ Another Category-F allegory first published in WDS E-Zine, the e-commerce edition #19, December 2001. "The Midwestern town of Dogslobber is known for it's vicious stray-dogs, and their bad habit of biting people. So naturally the most beloved elected official in town was the DogCatcher. Phenortin Picklezypher III, was a first-time candidate, running against the incumbent, Albert Albertson. Phenortin campaigned by pointing out that dog bites had doubled during Albertson's time in office, and if the voters would elect him these biting dogs would be driven from the streets. Albert had been much loved even with his poor performance, but Phenortin was elected by a narrow margin. Phenortin immediately brought to his side the best and brightest administrative staff (and a couple of dog-control technicians). He lobbied hard for the money to purchase a new vehicle with an escape-proof dog cage, and all kinds of high-tech dog detecting and dog grabbing equipment. Phenortin gave wonderful speeches and the citizens of Dogslobber were delighted with their new DogCatcher…even though he hadn't yet caught any dogs. DogCatcher Picklezypher promised that these dogs' days were numbered with the Picklezypher team hot on their flea-bitten tails. At the moment, however, he was busy with speech-making and administrative duties. Phenortin wanted more than anything to become known as the best Dogcatcher in Dogslobber's history. He already had a committee working on his display case for the Dogslobber Hall of Fame. But then suddenly! ...a gang of stray dogs that had just reached puberty, were possessed by a sex-crazed frenzy attracted by a pack of in-heat females. These dogs went absolutely nuts, and started biting anyone that got in their way. Almost overnight, Dogslobber's Our Lady of Pain Hospital became filled with dog-bite victims. The terrified residents became prisoners within their own homes. Phenortin leaped into action. First on his agenda was to give a stirring speech to assure the frightened citizens that he had the situation well in hand. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he expressed his personal anguish for the pain and suffering of each and every dog-bit victim. He called these sex-crazed dogs the most vile vermin on earth. Dogcatcher Picklezypher said these dogs were less than filthy rodents. The Dogslobber City Counsel fell in line by pledging full support to Dogcatcher Picklezypher, and approved a large emergency fund to fight the war against these canine cowards. Dogslobber became paralyzed as tourism and commerce in general dried up. The Dogslobber tax base couldn't cover Phenortin's new budget, especially as bankruptcies soared, so they floated bonds to cover the costs. After more inspiring speeches and great preparation, Phenortin's dogcatcher troops went into action grabbing dogs right and left. "This is war!" Phenortin proclaimed, "and there is no time for caution." He warned that some of the captured dogs might be innocent pets rather than the sex-crazed vermin. Picklezypher spoke eloquently of his anguish for the pain and suffering for each and every pet that became an innocent victim. Some of Picklezypher's critics charged that none of this would have happened had Picklezypher moved in a more timely fashion. Picklezypher's supporters pointed out that it was during Albert Albertson's term that the problem had escalated, and the citizens of Dogslobber agreed. It was clear that DogCatcher Picklezypher had become beloved. ~ The End ~

At the publication date of this eBook, this is my last-written allegory, Done on February 2002. It was published in the Allegorical Hypnotism Edition of the WDS E-Zine #15. It's on the edge of a Category-G allegory.

~ Pablo's Adventure ~ Pablo Stupinski peered longingly over the edge and remarked to himself that the cars appeared as toys and the people like ants! This was not surprising since he was on the observation deck of The Presidential, a 100-story skyscraper! A famous physician whose name was Dr. Spinovich noticed Pablo and struck up a conversation. Pablo was saying that he thought the freedom of sailing down from these heights would be a wonderful experience, but he feared striking the concrete below would be painful, if not fatal. "Nonsense," said Dr. Spinovich. "I'm a person you can trust and I know for a fact the last three people that leaped from this very spot survived without a scratch, and had a wonderful time. Why would it not be the same for you?" "Are you sure?" Pablo asked excitedly--wanting so very much to take this thrilling ride down to the street 100 stories straight down. "Yes," the doctor said..."I know of such things, and you can trust me." "Okay, I believe you--I'm going to make this trip--here goes!" "Hold off for a minute," yelled Spinovich, over his shoulder, "I'll go half way down so I can see how you're enjoying your trip." Dr. Spinovich hurried to the 50th floor and stuck his head out the window. Sure enough, along came Pablo grinning from ear to ear as he flapped his arms and legs in the wind. "How're you doing, Pablo? "You were exactly right, Dr. Spinovich," I'm half way down and--so far--I'm feeling just great! And he rocketed on down toward the street below. Dr. Spinovich reached the ground floor just in time to see the cleaning crew sweeping up the last of Pablo's hair, teeth, and eyeballs. Someone in the crowd that had gathered asked Spinovich if he knew this person. "Yes, he was a fine fellow--but quite a foolish risk-taker. I mentioned to him that three people had jumped from the observation deck and survived, but he was so eager to begin his trip I didn't have a chance to tell him that all three were wearing parachutes." ~ The End ~

---

When a patient walked into my office for the first time, I had a procedure that evolved over the years. Allow me to describe it to you.

I learned to treat everyone as I would treat a good friend. I smiled a lot, offered something like coffee or at least a comfortable place to sit and relax. I kept my mouth shut and listened and watched. As they settled into a chair, if I didn't have a receptionist handling the intake or profile form, I would apologize for the inconvenience and ask them to fill out the form-usually joking about the "curse of paperwork."

In most cases, they had questions they wanted to ask, and I would answer them in the simplest of terms-often telling them they would understand "all of that" by the time the session was complete. I seldom volunteered very much because my technique of testing and evaluation had built-in answers to most questions the patient had.

If they had a problem that didn't have a built-in diagnosis (such as cigarette smoking), I would save the history-taking, testing, and other procedures for a later session. I would explain to them that the first step is to evaluate their response hypnotically. I would, of course, get enough information to provide some initial feedback from the first session.

I have a place on my profile form to quickly jot down the essential information, such as cigarette pack-years, related chronic degenerative disorders, etc. Usually this used up less than a minute of time. (Samples of these forms are available in the WorkBook that is part of this program.)

In my early years, the typical mistake I made (in my nervousness) was to talk too much. I've heard it said that the long pre-induction talk is to reduce the patient's anxiety, but in my case it was to reduce my own anxiety and stall the hypnosis procedure until I had a chance to settle down a bit. I attempted to show them what a nice, caring guy I was. More important, I wanted to impress them with how much stuff I knew.

But they didn't come to me looking for a nice guy with a lot of intelligent things to say. They came for help with a problem, and they came to me hoping I could get the job done for them.

As time passed and I gained experience and confidence, I realized that I had a difficult task to perform. I had plenty of work to do to fill up the available time, and if I was going to deal successfully with a complicated psychological problem, I'd better stay focused at the task at hand. So, if I was in good form, the patient could tell I was focused on the job for which they had committed some of their time and money.

If the patient's anxiety manifested in constant chatter I would be making notes on their comments-and often they would realize the things they were saying weren't germane to their presence in my office.

I told them that the first step was to evaluate their response for hypnotism. They would often ask if I thought they would make a good subject. I would tell them something positive, such as "Well most folks that can relax and follow instructions do just fine." And I would add something to the effect that soon we would both know a lot more. The message I always wanted to project was. "let's go to work."

If they asked (in their anxiety) about the dangers of hypnosis, I would sometimes joke that they were perhaps watching too much "Mission Impossible." If they laughed, I knew I had taken care of that anxiety-if it brought a scowl I would say something like, "not to worry, you're as safe as in your mother's arms." …or something like that.

Here is one of my most useful statements. It's important to deliver this an off-hand manner. As I scribbled a final note on their profile form, I would say; "This is gonna be easy for you-my instructions are very simple to follow…I will do all the work for us both-you won't need to do a thing."

Often that statement will instantly dissolve resistance, especially from the over-cooperative or the defensive patient. Better yet, it has the potential of defusing remnants of a power-struggle on a win-win basis.

Generally they would relax as they filled out the form, and within five minutes I was initiating the first tests. I started with the postural sway test, because it is pretty much fail-safe. I then quickly proceeded into a series of neurological exams-always recording the results. My note taking let them know the results were important (which they were), but I would not volunteer much information, or tell them how they did beyond saying (if asked), "you did fine." I would keep moving without rushing--projecting the idea of a patient and therapist both busy with the task at hand.

I always demanded of myself a complete preoccupation with the "job-friendly but focused. In most cases the patient would pick up from my lead. And that intensity would be maintained until the session was completed. Even after 30 years, I would be worn out with a full day of back-to-back patients.

One of the important things to remember is always have the tests flow seamlessly from one to the next, and then into an induction-the patient should not be able to tell when the tests leave off and the induction begins.

Since the following was first published, I have added, refined, (and complicated), by adding a number of tests and procedures. But for this first module (Primary Hypnotism 100) a simplified example is adequate. [Ed. note: You'll find a word-for-word dialogue of a more advanced procedure in Study Eleven.]
This method involves the use of susceptibility tests, done for the following reasons:
- To develop subject's belief in hypnotist's ability
- To develop expectation
- To condition subject toward acceptance of suggestion
- To allow evaluation of subject's response
- To induce hypnosis without direct reference to a hypnotic induction
- To allow hypnotist to discontinue induction without admitting failure

The postural sway test is a favorite starting point because it's simple to do, and when done properly, is almost fail-proof.

From the LaCrosse Sunday Tribune, 1972 Ask the subject to stand facing away from you (as in the photograph), feet together, and by placing your hands on his shoulders guide (in this case it's a her) few steps backward. Keep the instructions brief, telling her to relax; rocking her back and forth to be sure she will pivot only from the ankles, not the knees. To get some imagery going, suggest that she is a pine tree swaying in the breeze. Tell her at your signal (verbal) that he/she will be "pulled back towards you." Stand as close as possible and ask her to focus his eyes directly on a point--I always had a brightly-colored marble tacked at the wall and ceiling junction. Be sure they stay focused on that point. Important: For safety reasons, take a "boxer's stance" behind the subject. That means place your left (or lead) foot forward and the other behind, providing yourself a wide platform. In this manner, a 90-pound female can catch a 250-pound linebacker with this bracing foot arrangement. In this shot, I wasn't following my own instructions because it was staged by the newspaper photographer--the "subject" was my receptionist.   At your signal, if the subject doesn't respond rapidly, place your hands beside the subject's head, moving them slightly backward, and check to see if he/she is bracing. Suggest the "pine tree in the breeze" idea again if necessary.

If the subject still doesn't respond rapidly, move your hands upward in a subtle way, and start leaning backward you self. Be subtle, and slowly start using direct suggestion…"That's better, pulling back, falling, back, falling, falling…"

Let the subject fall back until there is no doubt that he was forced to respond. I usually wait until he/she takes a step back to regain balance. Repeating the test will fortify the results. Do not discuss in detail the results of the test; let the subject draw his/her own conclusions. A friendly pat on the shoulder will be a signal that the test is over. This test should take no more than a couple of minutes.

Chevreul's Pendulum Place the subject in a chair, making sure he is comfortable and he/she can brace the elbow of his dominant arm. Have him/her grasp the end of the chain between his/her thumb and forefinger and instruct him/her as follows: "This pendulum will respond in a swinging motion from my concentration through you. You need only to focus your attention to the exact center of the ball, and keep your mind as passive as possible." Suggest a lateral swinging motion by passing your hand beneath the bobble and moving in the desired direction.

 (The easiest to facilitate is a lateral swinging motion, so start with that.) Suggest that the pendulum will move from side to side like "a pendulum of a clock." Then quickly change the movement of you hand to & fro and suggest a "child's swing in a playground." Again change the movement to circular by suggesting "round and round like the sweep second hand of a clock-or a spinning wheel." and quickly take the pendulum from them.  

If they ask you how that works, tell them it's an example off "ideomotor response." Do not elaborate, and please don't give them a bunch of "Cosmic BS." Play it safe by sticking with scientific facts, and move quickly to the next test.

The diagram on the right is for those who would like to do some Q & A work. Hold the pendulum as illustrated and establish "yes" and "no" (etc.) directions. Then simply ask questions and the pendulum will provide the answers, if it's known by the "deeper" levels of your mind. The workbook has more information on this.

By reading the transcribed process in Chapter Eleven (below) you will get a good idea how I use the combination of a spiral and hand levitation. These spirals are about the size of a large dinner plate--12 to 14 inches--and must spin clockwise. In times of yore, hypnotists would find old turntables that still functioned--33 RPM is just about the right speed. Now, novelty supply houses carry tiny electric motors that spin clockwise and about that speed. This test is very important because it can easily be developed into a hypnotic induction if the subject reacts well. Later, I started using the Power's HypnoDisk as an aid to give this process a boost. The subject will remain in a chair (from the pendulum test) and be sure his/her writing arm is resting relaxed on the arm of the chair. Make sure his fingers are in a natural relaxed position (slightly cupped) and by moving the arm, ascertaining that there is no tension. If you pick up the arm a couple of inches, it should plop back to the chair. Give the subject the following instructions:

"I am going to use the same force I used to pull you backward in the first test, and-with your help-moved the pendulum. Now I want you to help me again by focusing all your attention on this arm, especially your hand." (Move their arm a bit to focus their attention and make sure they are relaxed.)

Then say: "I want to you to imagine that this arm and hand is very light, like a circus balloon. (Place your hand a couple of inches above the subject's hand.) "Can you feel kind of a warm breeze between by hand and yours?" [subject nods] "Fine… we are going to use this drawing force to elevate your hand up from the arm of the chair. IF the subject is a slow responder, use tactile stimulation and suggest a tingling response. This phase should only take a minute or two.

When the hand starts to rise from the arm of the chair, use suggestions incorporating the following terms: "tingling; lighter; lighter & pulling; up-up toward my hand; feel the strong magnetic drawing and pulling; up toward my hand; notice the magnetic feelings of drawing and pulling; etc."

The movement will (usually) initially manifest as tiny jerks, the twitches of involuntary muscle responses, called ideomotor movements. This is the same force, but more conspicuous, which moved the arm enough to create the pendulum movement-the pendulum, of course, is simply an amplifier of ideomotor response. Watch for subject surprise at these unexpected movements and be ready to capitalize on an instantly shifted mind-set.

When the hand is floating about a foot from the chair, and it has taken less than a couple of minutes, this is when you can decide to move from test to induction. This should be the case in 90% of the times you use it.

Inform the subject the following: "Now you will find your hand is pulling in toward your face; as you concentrate on it you find it will float right in toward your face, and as it does you will find your eyes will become very heavy… so heavy and tired that the instant that hand actually touches your face, your eyes will instantly close down and stick tightly shut…. and you will feel completely relaxed."

If the hand touches the face and the eyes close, you can either do some in-trance tests with the arm (arm bar), or release the suggestions of floating and drop the arm in the chair suggesting deepening, etc.

This test is also very adaptable to a hypnotic induction, although it should not be used as such until all previous tests have been successful. There are several ways to conduct this test, but again, the simplest is the most effective.

Stand over the subject a little out of his field of vision. Have him/her look straight ahead and inform him/her that this is only a test and you will use the same force felt during the previous tests, this time concentrating on the eyelids.

Place your hand above his/her forehead, telling him/her he/she is going to start feeling the heaviness pulling on the eyelids. Wait for a few seconds for a reaction; blinking, tearing, eyelid droop, and/or lack of eye movement, and then say, "you can now feel the heaviness building up in your eyes, pulling the lids down as if they were made of lead, pulling down heavier, closing, sticking tightly shut."

After the eyes close watch for fluttering and rapid cornea movement (REM) under the eyelids. If the corneas appear rolled up you can count on the eyelids being locked shut.

The same tiny muscles that hold the eyeballs up hold the eyelids down, so you can usually challenge the test. Say "try to pry your eyelids open…look at this point (press your finger at about their hairline). If you see the eyebrows rise but the eyelids remain closed, you can increase the challenge: "And not you will find your eyes are stuck shut, very tightly shut…and the harder you try to open them, the tighter they will stick shut. Try to open and you will find you cannot… Try, try harder!"

Then quickly terminate the challenge by saying (softly), "that's fine, now just relax." Or you can take it into a hypnotic induction-when the eyes are stuck the subject is already in a light state, and deepening should be an easy process. However…

Warning: Don't hold the eye-sticking challenge too long-it can be somewhat distressing and uncomfortable for the subject. This is especially true for those who occasionally experience a temporary paralysis upon waking-especially from a nap. One uncomfortable experience is a lucid dreaming state in which the patient dreams they are awake-experiencing dual realities simultaneously. This is more common than you would think. If the patient's eyes seem to be glued shut and your suggestions seem to have no effect; if you then see the patient starting to display mounting anxiety-stay calm and, if possible, recline them into a more comfortable position while, at the same time, placing a cool washcloth on the subject's forehead. Never leave the patient alone.

The Eye Rollback susceptibility test is both the easiest and the most fascinating, since it has definite neurological implications that haven't yet been understood.

The test is administered simply by asking the subject to roll his/her eyes up and back toward the hairline as far as possible, and then drop his eyelids down so that only the white (sclera) of the eyes are showing.

There is a definite and proven correlation between this eye position and the alpha brain waves that sometimes define the hypnotic state. Which triggers which has yet to be decided (at the time this was written).