This is a beginning, and so I suppose it is best to begin things by offering an introduction of sorts. You might imagine how, as I begin this, I’m wondering what questions you might want answered, and so let me start here, not with our first discussion of hypnotic thoughts (though these thoughts might well be truly hypnotic in another sense), which shall, as you might imagine, be the focus of this column, but by speaking more about how it is that this column came to be and with a bit of information of how I got involved with the hypnosis in general, and the IATH.
When I was younger than I am but about the same age as many of you, 14 perhaps, or 15, I became fascinated with the ideas of hypnosis. In truth, hypnosis had always been there, somewhere floating back inside my mind, of course not real hypnosis, but that kind that you might well once have imagined, that magical, magnetic power, more mesmerism than hypnosis, but in any case it was that entrancing idea which held my interest. Now, what is it that changed when I was in my teens that turned those wonderfully youthful dreams into a desire to truly learn about just how these things could work, you might be wondering.
It was a book, actually two books, by Jack Finney, From Time To Time and Time And Again, books that are rather silly, to be completely honest, in the idea at their core, but good books none the less. Now, the thing is, in those books the character uses self hypnosis and hypnotic inductions are well described, so I began to wonder, could one learn what’s written here and use it to create hypnotic experiences? I began to do some self hypnosis, and had a bit of success, experiencing trance states and exploring them just a bit for myself.
Then I tried to do it, to hypnotize another person. It was in school, during a study hall. A classmate of mine volunteered and we sat down in a quiet corner and I began to talk. He seemed relaxed, but I was never truly certain about what happened, and when others came out speaking about lunch, he opened his eyes and wandered off, but he claimed to me that he had been relaxed, even if he was aware, and now, thinking back on it, I see it as a success. Minor, yes, but it succeeded in a far bigger way, for that was when the bug had bitten me and I became truly enthralled by these notions and experiences.
In the years since, I’ve spent much time learning as much as I could about hypnosis. I discovered a copy of Patterns of The Hypnotic Technique of Milton Erickson in the school library during college, and read it over and over. From their I continued, reading every book I could find, text books, NLP, pop psychology, anything that might just teach me a little more about hypnosis. And over time, with so much practice and thought, I learnt more and more, and still that is my journey.
Now, that’s me, but you might wonder why I’m here. I’m not a teenager, so why this site? Well, in truth, it is because of my friendship with and deep respect for IATH cofounder Nathan Thomas. I remember several years ago, when Nathan and I first began to communicate over the internet, he asked me a question, a question that I could not truly answer. He asked me where he, at his young age, could become certified as a hypnotist. Now, this is the reason I respect Nathan, and why you can learn so much just from seeing this about him, because he was passionate.
Nathan loves hypnosis, is fascinated by hypnosis, and he is a sponge. He works hard at learning and seeks out anyone he can who might be able teach him. It was shortly after that conversation when Nathan told me he had begun corresponding with some big name people in the covert hypnosis community and was working on their products with them. But what’s really impressive isn’t just his passion, but his attitude, and you may already see this, but whether you have noticed it yourself or not, it is something very important. Nathan has no obstacles.
What do I mean by that, you might wonder, because everyone faces things that might stand in their way, won’t they? Yes, and no. You see, Nathan wanted to be certified as a teenage hypnotist, and he knew that wasn’t going to happen with what existed, within that system he had so little as an option. Most people would just wait, would study in private and say, okay, soon I’ll be older and then… They would sit in their rooms daydreaming of the day when, and letting that build as they imagined it more and more vividly, but Nathan did even more than that, and we all know how powerful imagining can be, but there is more to success than seeing what you want.
The IATH itself is a testament to the fact that if you want something enough and you keep your eyes so focused upon that goal, you will never face an obstacle, you will only see a different path, sometimes a better one. You see, what for that wonderful dreamer would have been a stalling point was a true opportunity for Nathan. Now, in truth, I know he was not alone in founding this, and I am sure that Leo deserves equal praise, but I have been friends with Nathan for several years now, and he is the one who brought me here, so it is because of that knowledge and relationship that I can say with certainty that Nathan, certainly, looked at what was possible and saw something new that could be and made it happen.
So that is how I came to be a part of this, and a bit about me and my journey. As we continue on in this journey together, there will be many lessons to discuss and ideas to think and think about, and you might already notice some things here that you can take and think about and use for yourself, but for now, I just wanted to say hello and let us begin. It won’t be long before we speak again, and in the meantime, I’ll see you on the forums.
Will.