What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy uses the power of hypnosis to access the subconscious mind to change:
• Attitudes and Beliefs
• Behaviors
• Health
• Well Being

How can Hypnotherapy help you?
Hypnotherapy can make it easier to achieve your personal or professional goals. People find that hypnotherapy helps them
• Lose Weight
• Quit Smoking
• Become a Better Athlete
• Become a Better Student
• Find the Source of and Release Anger and other Negative Emotions
• Manage Pain
• Reduce Anxiety
• Release Phobias
• Manage Stress and Stress Related Illnesses
• Ease Discomfort of Childbirth

Can you be Hypnotized?
Whether you are aware of it or not, you have experienced hypnosis - just before you fall asleep at night, and when you wake up in the morning, your conscious mind is on hold and you are in a hypnotic state. You also experience it when you go to a movie or watch TV. When you are in a hypnotic state your subconscious mind is open for suggestions. The advertisers on TV know this and therefore commercials are addressed to your subconscious mind.

In order to understand the power of the mind, one must understand the parts of the mind and their functions.

Functions of the Conscious Mind

The conscious mind is that part of your nervous system that is involved in your conscious thought. At any given time you can only have one conscious thought although many of us are masters at multitasking or shifting quickly between different trains of thought.
Your conscious mind performs the following functions for you:
1. Judging and critiquing – Most of us spend a great deal of time evaluating things going on around us or within us. This is an important way in which we put things into context and learn.
2. Analyzing the past – This is an important function of the conscious mind that allows us to learn from past mistakes and successes, and informs our future. Over-use of this function can have a downside; ruminating and mentally beating yourself up or blaming other people can create thinking habits that cause stress in our bodies and ultimately can lead to chronic disease.
3. Planning for the future – Like “analyzing the past”, “planning for the future” is an important aspect of human consciousness that distinguishes us from other animals and is disadvantages with over-use. Anyone who has ever spent much time worrying can attest to the stress that this mental activity causes.
4. Awareness - Your conscious thinking might consist of whatever you are aware of in any given moment, such as the words on the computer screen, your hand on the mouse, the way you are sitting in your chair or the sounds around you. You are unlikely to be aware of all of these things at any given moment but you can easily shift from one to another and expand your awareness of your environment and your body. Notice as you do so how you don’t have room in your thinking for planning and analyzing – you just can’t be in the present moment and the past or future at the same time.

Functions of the Subconscious Mind
1. Your Body is your Subconscious Mind – Every organ system of your body is innervated by, and therefore in communication with, the nervous system.
2. Habits - Your subconscious stores all of your behavior and thought patterns. Belief systems are also stored here.
3. Past Memories - All of your long term memories are stored in your subconscious mind. At any given moment, we are not aware of our past - until we access the subconscious. When we do this through hypnosis we have more access then when try through our fully conscious state.
4. Emotions

How do you achieve a hypnotic state?
During hypnotherapy, you are taught to focus you conscious mind through deep relaxation and to turn off
• Judging and Critiquing
• Analyzing the past
• Planning for the future
So that you are left with a profound since of AWARENESS. From this awareness, you now have access to all of the functions of the subconscious mind and can easily make the positive changes you desire.

How do you get started with Hypnotherapy?
Take the time now to call for an appointment (650) 704-1252. Just mention that you have reviewed this page and receive a $10 discount off your first session. For more information about Hypnotherapy or Dr. Cynthia Sholes, see www.MindWaveInstitute.com.

So, breathe and relax, and let your cares melt away. …Peace…