Guided Thought – William T Batten
Mental Tools for Greater Living
Serotonin is on everyone’s lips lately. This strange little neurotransmitter shows up in all sort of weird places. Its role in mood regulation is so critical that many researchers call it the ‘happy molecule.’ It regulates appetite too. Hypnotists – I hope you’re paying attention. This little bundle of joy is worth paying attention to.
If you are catching an interstate bus, I recommend the midnight run. It draws the more interesting crowd. There’s something sublime about hurtling down the highway at the dead of night, surrounded by weirdos. And the last time this happened, I learned a great lesson about hypnosis. The driver, Edward, was exactly who you want
Hypnotists need a certain state of mind when working with clients. In a therapeutic context, the relationship is everything. I’m not saying anything strange here – how you see each other shapes everything else. Rapport is king and without it, hypnosis is impossible. To say that a single neurochemical triggers the perfect state for this
Pain. It would be a funny thing if it weren’t… well, painful. It’s your body’s response to harm and danger, and it’s so much more. You know that when you feel it, it’s more than just a voice whispering warnings in your ear. It wears you down, distracts you from life and leaves you floating
Imagine someone with a problem. Let’s say they have a bad habit such as smoking. This problem comes from their unconscious thinking. Maybe it’s something they picked up as a child. If it were conscious thinking, they could choose to change it. For changing unconscious thinking, hypnosis is the answer. A hypnotic trance brings unconscious
Many people want to meditate. They hear about the incredible benefits it brings – sharper focus, emotional balance, greater relaxation – and they decide that, yeah, they want some of that. But it’s hard work. The techniques are difficult to use at first, especially the way that most people teach them. If you want to
To want something with every part of your body feels like a psychological state. It seems as though it’s all in your thinking. And, of course, it is. And it’s also chemical. When you desire something, your neurochemistry releases dopamine, which changes every part of you. Imagine a young man who’s sick of his body.
Hypnosis in general has many misconceptions surrounding it. Self-hypnosis has even more. If people understood it, though, it would be one of the most widely celebrated tools out there. Have you ever struggled to change? Have you known what the right thing is to do, but done the wrong thing anyway? It’s hard to battle
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was an intimidating creature. Was? I should say ‘is’. Get up close to a skeleton of one and you can feel its power in your waters. A tiny voice warns you that, even in death, this thing is terrifying. And in that fear is an important lesson about marketing yourself as a
You know what it’s like. It’s a struggle to get through your morning. You need coffee yet the caffeine doesn’t work. Somehow, you make it to the afternoon, where it’s a battle just to keep your eyes open. Then you get home, collapse on the couch and zone out. Until you crawl into bed, that