good-bye 12 days of hypnosis, hello 2016

From 12/12 to 12/23 of 2015 I had a little promo going: 12 dollar hypnosis sessions, "the 12 days of hypnosis." This way, anyone interested could try their hand at hypnosis for approximately the price of [a martini, an alvin and the chipmunks 4 ticket, 240 white castle sliders circa 1921, etc].

I was so happy and surprised and grateful that so many people were interested. And many of these people actually came...or I came to you!

I learned that the home office I set up here actually works quite well for meeting with people in a private, cozy setting. I also learned that it can be really fun and cool to walk, bike, drive, teleport to linden hills, powderhorn, northeast, keep 'em coming, for a "hypnosis house call." Most significantly, these days of December reinforced something I know about integrative nurse coaching and hypnosis: using these safe and simple strategies can be potent, powerful stuff for many people!

All sessions started out with a talk about the goal(s) for hypnosis. In my experience as hypnotizer and hypnotized, "trance" can be equally helpful with a specific intention or a "see what comes up" approach. However, through conversation it became clear that many people knew on some level--whether through a vague sense or in a detailed vision--what they wanted to give attention to during the session.

But this conversation is not just any sort of conversation. We talked using an integrative nurse coaching structure: a process of open, deep, skillful listening. This is compassionate and non-judgmental respect for the whole person, the issue at hand, the various characters and influences within each of us that may be operating at cross-purposes when it comes to growth, change, feeling stuck and getting un-stuck.

Ericksonian hypnosis posits that each "negative" behavior we engage in has a positive intention for us lurking somewhere, perhaps way below surface. Integrative nurse coaching, too, seeks to identify the strengths and resources that reside within each of us--often where we least expect to find them. Gently and kindly exploring underlying needs, and inner resources to meet those needs, before hypnosis was sometimes the most moving part of the session. In fact, a few "hypnosis" sessions in December naturally evolved into a bona fide coaching session, with little or no time spent in trance--and these were described to me as remarkably effective and powerful.

Using integrative nurse coaching to prepare for hypnosis/"trance", or likewise, incorporating hypnosis into an integrative nurse coaching session, feels remarkably seamless, natural. Whether through the inward experience of hypnosis, the compassionate and cozy container of integrative nurse coaching conversation, or the twilight where the two overlap, the sessions during those 12 darkening days in December created a new place to give attention where it was needed. Several people described astonishment with the usefulness of a new way of looking at old issues and patterns. Others experienced an unexpected and intense sense of release, relief, self-acceptance.

Finally, coaching and hypnosis can be really fun! The experience of opening up to a new, fresh way of looking at our problems can bring lightness, creativity and humor. It was common for the sessions to bring laughter, interesting images and associations, and new ideas.

So as 2016 emerges, I thank you so much for your interest thus far in hypnosis, integrative nurse coaching, this sprouting practice I'm tending to, and ripples of change toward health and wholeness in our worlds.

What are your hopes and intentions for this new year?