My perspective

A few years ago, and with the support of some family and friends, I decided to make some changes. I’ll be the first to admit that at the time there was definitely tremendous opportunity to make some improvements to my body, mind and soul. It’s always easy to look back with hindsight, but the key to these changes was realizing we’re all doing the best we can with what we have at any particular moment.

Like anyone, I’ve had my share of trials and tribulations, but that’s a story for a different day over a mocktail. Let’s just say that my therapist has shed tears for me on a couple of occasions, but the takeaway from that is the feeling of being heard. But what was I trying to say all those years I was making arguably self-destructive decisions? I had the words but the inability to express them. That’s when these loved ones suggested hypnotism: a way to touch base with my subconscious to get to the root of why we make the decisions we do.

I subscribe to the belief that our bodies are temples, and I was treating mine like a latenight, smokey dive bar that served copious amounts of fast food. I knew how to live a better life, but why wasn’t I making the decisions to live it? For some reason, this question overwhelmed me, and along with other external factors we all face, it forced me to shut down at times, punting any action required to make these undoubtedly life-saving changes.

My first meeting with Michelle at Bayside Hypnosis will be one I’ll never forget. Her effort and dogma to establish full trust with clients went a long way as I sat nervously in her office recliner, but as the sessions commenced, so did my comfort as her words wrapped around me like the fabric in that comfy chair. She listened and made it all about me as she does with all her clients. Not in a conceited way, but in a way that made me feel worthy regardless of my past “mistakes.” Not only did she teach me how to move forward, but also how to actively imagine what forward looked like. I wasn’t happy with how my clothes fit; I was tired of waking up glassy-eyed and not functioning at 100 percent, and I knew deep in my heart I could be a better person for my friends, family, community, and most importantly, for myself.

Hypnosis helped me to unravel the feelings I accumulated about these external factors along the way. Personal and family life, careers, relationships – you name it – all had influenced my life in very specific ways, but were those feelings congruent with those influences? A lot were not. But, over time, Michelle helped me work through these feelings, and she’ll be the first to tell you she has nothing to do with her clients’ success and that it’s us who possess the power to make the changes.

That’s what hypnosis is – it’s not someone telling you what to think, it’s someone helping you think your own productive thoughts, to put it very, very simply.

At the time of publication, I will have lost and kept off close to 100 pounds, and I haven’t had a sip of alcohol in 1,173 days. That’s my journey, and everyone’s is different. Sometimes we don’t know how to read our own life maps, but hypnotism is more than just a compass – it’s a personal tour guide while using our own feet to take each individual step.

It doesn’t matter how big your stride is, as long as you’re envisioning where you want to go, you’ll get there because believing in yourself is quite possibly the best destination you’ll ever have.

— By Bradley “Beej” Davis

us the comfort and courage to take the next step by focusing on the potential for success rather than the despair of failure even before we’ve begun the process.

Imagine Your Goals

What is achievement without goals? How are we measuring success in our lives, both personal and professional? In order to accomplish a task or goal that we’re willing to take on, we need to imagine that as a reality for ourselves. It always seems easier said than done: “just make better choices.” But as complex as our minds are, they are equally as creative.

“It is all about your life and what you want, so I am extremely goal-oriented,” said Holman. “As your hypnotist, I have to know what you want and what do you see if you could be successful.”

She asks questions like: what would that be like for you? What would you be doing? What would happen? What would it feel like if you were getting what you wanted because of the actions that you were taking? She compares this feeling to “taking off the shackles,” meaning we are no longer a prisoner of what we haven’t accomplished, but instead given the freedom to visualize success for ourselves.

“In here we teach you how to use your imagination, to visualize them and see yourself following through,” she said.

One example might be imagining your clothes fitting right and appearing beautiful when you look in the mirror. Or perhaps it’s during a shower and imagining how you feel your body being the size and shape you want it to be.

“When you use the imagination to feel what it’s like putting on the size pants that you want, at that moment, we are training the subconscious mind to want that. And when you want something, you will find a way to make it happen.”

So you’re ready to sit across from a complete stranger and immediately open up about your deepest desires, horrible habits and private past? Unlikely. But that’s OK, because as they say, anything worth doing is doing slowly. Hypnosis usually takes place over a number of sessions, and the reason has to do with trust.

“I don’t believe in single sessions. There has to be trust between the client at the hypnotist,” Holman said.

Beginning with the aforementioned foundation of forgiveness, other themes are discussed like leveling, love, awareness and many more during sessions. Regardless of your journey, it always begins with the willingness to begin. Even reading past this article’s title means you’re willing to at least learn more about options to improve your life, but it has to begin with you.

“You’re already admitting that you want change in your life. You may not know exactly what it is, and you don’t have to know. The mind will only change if you want it to. If you don’t want change, it won’t happen.”