Tuesday, December 21, 2010

New Smoking Cessation Website

One of my favorite applications of hypnosis is working with smokers who want to quit. There is nothing quite as gratifying as watching someone who has tried (and failed) for years to break free. Please visit my new site whether for yourself or a smoker you care about. Quitting is actually easier than you may think, especially with the two session program I have developed and refined over the years.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Declare Your Freedom From Destructive Habits

I believe that each of us has at least one oppressive habit we would like to break free from. Smoking. Overeating. Drinking too much. Overspending. Exercising too little.
As we celebrate our nation's independence this July, it might be wise to let the spirit of the holiday inspire us to declare our independence from our habits that enslave us. If you look closely, you will see that national and personal freedom have some interesting parallels.

To begin with, the Declaration of Independence was not a spur of the moment decision. As its text points out "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

In personal terms, this desperate emotion is known as "hitting bottom" when it starts a personal revolution to free us from victimization by our unhealthy habits. A person must accept the unacceptability of the habit. They must also be angry enough to do something about it. People refer to this as being sick and tired of being sick and tired.

A distinguishing feature of the US Declaration of Independence is that it not only ended something (British rule), but also introduced a new idea into world consciousness
- the notion of self-rule.

It is important when starting a personal revolution that you develop an added dimension. Don't just quit something. Become something new and better.

Freedom from an addiction begins with a bold declaration that the person has gone to war with the habit and intends to separate from it absolutely. The alcoholic who accepts that one drink is too much and a thousand is not enough is on the road to recovery. Smokers who understand that one cigarette will likely get them hooked again, save themselves the trouble of reaching new, lower bottoms. There is nothing wrong with becomming fanatical about your insistence on being free. In fact, I have found that a degree of fanaticism is essential for success.

So, when in the course of human events, you reach a point where you are no longer willing to pay the price for your habits or addictions, the first step is to make a Personal Declaration of Independence. Declare yourself free of this addiction once and forever. The second is to begin to live, as though it were so. And it may not be easy. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Do not expect to be translated from despotism to liberty on a featherbed."

And, by all means, continue to celebrate your independence. Habits have a way of sneaking back when we least expect it. Just as the British decided to try to regain their "colonies" in 1812, addictions and old, destructive habits lie in wait looking for a moment of weakness. Be grateful for the change and be vigilant for any threats against your independence. Get it right and you can look forward to happy Independence Days in the years to come

Monday, May 31, 2010

My Idea to Stop The British Petroleum Oil Spill

I called BP with a suggestion. The operator said she would send me a form via email. That was a week ago. No form.

I have an idea that I am convinced will work. Maybe it is too simple.

Build a DOME heavy enough to overcome the pressure of the oil. Lower it over. Cap it off.

May not be a perfect solution. But wouldn't it stop upwards of 90% of the problem?

Then go in afterwards with filler. Or even put a valve in and pump the oil up to the surface.

I will try BP again but am posting here in the hopes that someone else may also run with it and solve a nasty problem that effects us all.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

SURGERY WITHOUT DRUGS?

Yes. It is possible. And, over the years, I have helped several clients undergo surgical procedures, from minor to major, with no other pain management tool than the power of their minds.

In other words, they underwent surgery with hypnosis only.


Like the surgery described in the article linked to here, my favorite case history is that of a patient who was undergoing breast surgery. Hers was at Women and Infants hospital where I had been working in oncology helping cancer patients cope with the stress, pain and treatment associated with cancer.

Admittedly, she was excellent at hypnosis. There is a range of responsiveness. But it worked just fine. I met with her twice before the day of the surgery, induced hypnosis with suggestions for the day or the surgery. That morning I went to Women and Infants Hospital and hypnotized her in the preparation room. I was not invited into the operating theater. But, as it turns out, I wasn't needed. My client underwent her surgery with little discomfort much to the amazement of her surgeon and the staff.

In Europe, hypnosis is now increasingly being used in surgery. At one Belgian hospital, more than 5,000 surgical procedures have been carried out using a technique known as 'hypnosedation', which replaces general anaesthesia with hypnosis, local anaesthesia and a mild sedative.

Studies have shown that those who are 'hypnosedated' and avoid the side effects associated with general anaesthetics are able to return to work twice as quickly - 15days after surgery rather than 28 days.

If you are thinking about surgery with hypnosis as your primary pain management stratregy, there are two things to keep in mind. First, you must be an excellent hypnotic "subject" and enter a deep level of trance at will. Second, your surgeon and his or her team must be on board with your plan.

However, even if you don't go all the way with hypnosis, you can benefit tremendously from pre-surgery hypnosis. Hypnosis before surgery can:

Significantly reduce anxiety

before surgery

Reduce bleeding during surgery

Promote more rapid healing after surgery

Speed your recovery time

Reduce pain


If you are planning surgery, give me a call at 401-374-1890 to discuss how hypnosis can help you get through it with a minimum of discomfort and a more rapid recovery or drop me an email at john.koenig,hypnotist@live.com.

May Flowers

"Spring is nature's way of saying Lets Party!"
Robin Williams

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. "
Anne Bradstreet

"Whoosh...thank God the rains finally stopped and my basement is dry again."
John Koenig

Feel free to quote me.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Magi Institute Of Natural Medicine

Magi institute offers medical hypnotherapy, nlp, eft, nutrition and fitness coaching, as well as hypnosis & nutrition certification. Online stores - ebooks, books, mp3s, hypnosis and hypnotherapy scripts, hypnosis downloads and members only sections.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Link Market - Free Link Exchange, Link Building and Link Trade Directory

Link Market - Free Link Exchange, Link Building and Link Trade Directory
Description of the site :
Have you ever tried to exchange links, link building, or trade links? Was it hard? Use link market instead; - it is easy to use, free and very smart. It will save you hours of work.

My Home Page

Link to my home hypnosis page:
http://www.possibilities.nu

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Happy Saint Patricks Day


On Saint Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish, or wants to be. And that includes me.

As you may know, I attended graduate school in Ireland where I met my wife (an Aer Lingus Flight Attendant from Belfast, County Down). I wasn't looking for a wife when I went to Ireland. That was a happy coincidence of luck of the Irish for me. What brought me to the land of saints and scholars was the wonderful literature and language of Ireland.

There is a music inherent in English as spoken and written by the Irish. It is more than a "brogue" or lilt, it is a certain poetical reverence for the power of language and imagination. The Irish know that words are powerful. How we communicate with each other and, perhaps most important, how we communicate with ourselves creates our reality.

Whether it is the oratory of John F. Kennedy or the poetry of Yeats, the Irish know how to use words to motivate, inspire and move people to action.

It is also part of the Irish character to dream grand dreams. And none were grander than those of John Lennon, the Irish Liverpoolian, who sang, "You may say that I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will be as one."
.
Yep, being Irish is a lot more than swiling down green beer.

In that spirit, my goal is always to help you use your own imagination and words to create a better reality.

Wishing that your best dreams become reality this St. Patrick's Day.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hypnosis for the Unemployed

As I write this my home state of Rhode Island has the unfortunate distinction of having the second highest rate of unemployment in the United States. It is 12.5% and seems to be growing. Unemployment, of course, is a national problem with 9.5% of people out of work nationwide. It is just a bigger problem in the smallest state in the union and neighboring Southeastern Massachusetts.

I began noticing back in November ‘08, that a large number of my clients were unemployed and struggling to pay for hypnosis. I am committed to making hypnosis available for everyone. And unemployment is inherently stressful. The need for hypnosis to reduce stress, handle compulsive behaviors, deal with emotional issues is even greater than the general population. Yet it comes at a time when the family budget is strained and any extra expense is problematic.

So I began to offer a $25 discount to anyone who said they were unemployed and looking for work. This gives some clients the incentive they need to try hypnosis in the first place. It also allows them to afford more sessions than they would otherwise. The only exception to this discount I make is smoking cessation. A smoker will quickly recoup his or her investment in hypnosis with the money they save by buying cigarettes anyway. And If someone can afford to smoke, I figure they can afford my full fee.


This discount is a win-win situation. The client gets served and I probably get clients and income I would not otherwise have. But I decided there was more I could do. And, so I think, can any consulting hypnotist.


The Unemployment Opportunity and Responsibility for Consulting Hypnotists


As a hypnotist, I am generally a “glass is half full” kind of person. And this attitude leads me to see a wonderful opportunity for all hypnotists in this current economic crises.

Back in June ‘09, I announced a free hypnosis support group for the unemployed. I call my group “Out-of-Work but In-Control.” TM It was a six week nine hour program that combines coaching and group support with hypnosis. It’s purpose is to help the participant maintain a positive attitude during this stressful time and to lead a balanced positive life while searching for work. I do not pretend that unemployment is not stressful. Obviously it is one of the most stressful life events most of us have to face. But the participant is invited to consider that being out-of-work can also be a time of great opportunity. They are coached in how to create a vision statement that reflects what they really want.

My participants ranged from someone out of work for 18 months to someone who got laid off the week before the program started. I tracked overall attitude and observed a significant improvement in the participants’ reported overall mood, hopefulness that they would connect with something suitable and amount of time and effort they spent in the actual job search.

Some typical comments included “I learned to relax and think smarter. Really motivated me in the right direction. I have also grown to realize that it is good to try for something I really want.” And “I am definitely putting more effort into my job search and don’t feel as alone as I did before. It is great to feel a part of something at a time like this. I am so glad I got turned on to this because I think I was falling into negative patterns. Like watching television instead of doing the next right thing in my job search. I am confident now that I will find something and that it will be the right something, not just the first thing that comes along.”

The advantage of this program for the client is obvious. The participant has support for both his or her conscious and subconscious minds. The group hypnosis is something they look forward to and use to re-program themselves at a deep level. But there are also great advantages for the consulting hypnotist. While none of the group found a job during the six week program, one decided to declare herself no longer out of work. She decided that as a result of her participation, she had seen that self-employment was right for her and she was enthusiastically applying the principles in launching her new business. Several others felt close to connecting with a job as we drew the course to a close.

But, there are also many, many advantages of offering an unemployment hypnosis group program for the consulting hypnotist. Here are a few:

Service. Presenting a group like this lets me give something back to my community that I am uniquely qualified to give. Our society is in a crises. And it makes me feel good to be able to bring my expertise to bear in helping make things better. Hypnosis, creative visualization and coaching are services for which I am skilled, trained and gifted. I also happen to have a strong business background as former CEO/Creative Director of a successful advertising agency and, yes, I have been out of work a time or two during my prior career. I offer something only I can bring to this crises. And I am sure you can too.

Education. Offering hypnosis for unemployment dramatizes that there are many more uses for hypnosis than the traditional “smoking, slimming and stress” stereotypes. It can open people’s minds to the use of hypnosis for any situation where a change in thinking, behavior or emotions is desired.

The opportunity to get the word out of the wonderful tools hypnosis and self-hypnosis are for everyday life management.
Publicity. Unemployment is one of today’s hottest news topics. I sent out a few releases to local media before I ran my first group. As a result, I was featured on local television in a :90 and also a 4:20 second spot. I have also been featured in my local weekly newspaper with online video as well. You can view the coverage on my website at http://www.possibilities.nu/tv.htm I expect more articles and media hits as I run future groups. This is publicity that money can’t buy.

Referrals. People want to pay back for the results they experience. So I ask them if they have had a good experience to tell their friends. Simple. But it is like having a roomful of sales people working for you. As a former advertising man, I have to agree that word of mouth is by far the best advertising vehicle and this is a wonderful way to achieve stimulate a lot of it.


Hypnosis is not a magic bullet: but it can help with the emotional challenge of staying motivated, balanced and healthy while looking for a new job. A hypnosis support group for the unemployed is something that is easy to run and should be able to work in your area for you the way mine has for me and my clients in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. And, helping people deal with life with the power of hypnosis, that’s our job isn’t it?

If you are unemployed and interested in taking advantage of the $25 discount, please call me at 401-374-1890 or send an email to jkhypnosis@aol.com with "Unemployment $25Discount" in the subject line.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Thanks to my Client for this Gift


Thanks to my client who so kindly gave me this little sculpture of myself or any hypnotist who makes a recording and a client. It is about 4" x 4" and I keep it in my home office in Rhode Island.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Hypnosis versis Psychotherapy?

I have seen many clients create breakthroughs after years of psychotherapy through hypnosis. My personal feeling is that these clients understand their issues but don't know how to go beyond understanding to health and happiness.

Hypnotism can give them the boost to take this knowledge and actually make real changes in their thinking, emotions and behavior.

But Dr. Alfred Barrios (Ph.D. UCLA) goes beyond my perspective. He suggests that hypnotherapy on its own is faster and far more effective than psychotherapy. Dr. Barrios is a Clinical Psychologist who is reported in American Health Magazine as having conducted a study of various psychological intervention techniques. Interestingly, the technique that proved to generate the greatest success in providing lasting change was hypnotherapy.
Psychotherapy: 38% recovery after 600 sessions (approx. 11 1/2 yrs @ 1 session per week.)
Behavior Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions (approx. 6 months @ 1 session per week)
Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions (approx. 1 1/2 months @1 session per week)
Maybe you lost weight with me or stopped smoking using hypnosis or even improved your golf game in the work we did, but if you are feeling stuck in your life, I invite you to consider hypnosis. I have seen it work for many, many clients with a wide variety of issues.

I don't consider hypnotherapy a replacement for psychotherapy but it can provide the jump start you have been missing.

Search Engine Submission - AddMe

Sunday, February 28, 2010

March 2010

March came in like a lion" this year. So maybe it will "go out like a lamb." Maybe not. Weather, like life, is sometimes impossible to predict.

But with the right focus, you and I can be centered no matter what. This is one of the goals of hypnosis and meditation, to help us create a safe harbor amidst the ups and downs of daily living. Whatever the issue that presents itself, living in the present helps us handle whatever comes up.

There is a wonderful phrase in the the bible "this too shall pass". And it applies to good times as well as to the bad. Knowing that regardless of whether you are facing a lion of a challenge or a soft time in life it will change is a special wisdom. It comes from the awareness that all any of us have is this moment.

The only constant truly is change. So, with that, let the good times roll.

Cigarettes are More Disgusting Than You Thought

Aside from their disgusting smell, plus cancer, cost, heart disease, and their absurdly expensive cost, recent research shows cigarettes are cesspools of bacteria. No kidding. It seems winter colds, sore throats smokers experience are caused partially by toxic bacteria.

Cigarettes are More Disgusting Than You Thought

Aside from destroying romance with their unromantic smell (plus cancer, cost, heart disease, etc), recent research shoes cigarettes are cesspools of bacteria. No kidding. It seems winter colds, sore throats smokers experience are caused partially by toxic bacteria.

Click here for more information on University of Maryland research.

How to Honeymoon for a Lifetime

June Weddings hold a special place in the mythology of love and romance.

The bride is always radiant, stunning in her flowing white gown. Her groom is nervous yet eager and attentive. The guests sense the magic of young love that vibrates between them. Bride and groom seem literally enthralled with each other. Long gazes into their beloved's eyes. They have fallen for one other. She has got him under her spell. He has swept her off her feet. They are entranced by their love and intimacy.

You might even say they are hypnotized by each other.

They are about to enter that wonderful walking-on-air time that we call a honeymoon.

In her eyes, he can do no wrong. In his, she is perfection incarnate. The casual way she leaves her clothes on the floor charms him. She is so unlike other women who concentrate too much on neatness. His fascination with televised football games is cute. He is such a man when it comes to his games. They are in love on a pink cloud of intimacy, discovery and sharing.

But fast-forward a few years...

Unfortunately, for many married couples, this honeymoon is a short-term event. Sometimes very short indeed. Life has a way of sobering up even the most passionately "in love" people. Sooner or later he stops being charmed by her casual attitude toward neatness and begins to resent picking up after her. She gets tired of watching him watch televised sports and calls herself a football widow. She starts spending Sundays at her mothers.

This doesn't mean the love is gone. If the marriage is fundamentally sound, a deeper working partnership is developing. And these issues can be worked out. Compromise and change are possible when both parties are willing to make the marriage work. As Antonine de Saint-Expupery, a French writer, said "Love does not consist in gazing art each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."

But, nevertheless, the honeymoon trance is broken.

Bring Back That Loving Feeling

To build a lifetime of honeymooning, let us start by assuming that a strong physical and emotional attraction exists. But the art of honeymooning requires more than love and desire. It is also necessary that the partners like each other as people, as friends for a long-term romance to thrive. To sustain this in a marriage requires what I will call "selective attention."

Romance cannot survive where there are deep-seated grudges. Anger demands expression then, not love. Once lovers (married or otherwise) begin collecting evidence against each other for the other's shortcomings, they prove to themselves that their significant other is not worthy. He or she is no longer Mr. or Ms Right, but Mr. or Ms. Whom I Must Make Do With.

To keep the honeymoon alive, it is necessary to make a conscious effort to battle this tendency. How? Start by deciding to focus on what you like about your spouse and minimize what you don't like. I am not saying to ignore important issues. But if it is not a major, unforgivable, potentially marriage-busting issue why not try letting it go?

This is selective attention, maybe a form of self-hypnosis. But it works. Harboring resentments and building a negative image of a spouse is equally a form of selective attention. However it is destructive process that does no one any good and is guaranteed to destroy romance and marriages.
Fall in Love with Someone New

When we make up our minds that we know exactly how our husband or wife is, there is no mystery to hold our attention. They are like a thriller that we have already read. Boring.

The cure is to make another conscious effort to allow your husband or wife to change, to grow, in a sense, to become new. Give them the freedom to become someone new. If you both give each other this gift you will be delighted at the freshness and excitement that it provides.

The final condition for a sustained honeymoon is mastery of the language of love. A honeymoon is about communication.

Physical intimacy is just one part of it. There are limitless ways that lovers communicate with each other. Small kindnesses. Gentle touches. Special gestures. A single rose given simply to say I love you is an eloquent example of love language so is a favorite meal cooked for no reason or a quiet hug. The vocabulary of the language of love is well known. But its grammar is the intention to really be with the loved one.
There is no doubt that it is easy for people caught up in the demands of family, kids, work and just plain living to fail to have time left over for their spouse.

But it is an equally simple matter to choose to act as if you are on a honeymoon whenever you can. You don't have to get on a plane and go somewhere. All you have to do is take the time to really be with the one you love.

How hypnosis can help

Hypnosis can help make your relationship magical again in several powerful ways. First, you can use hypnosis and creative imagery to forgive your partner for the past, to let go of blame and resentment that has been tearing your relationship down. You may have forgiven them consciously. Hypnosis can help you truly let go of the burden of blame, consciously and subconsciously.

You can also use hypnosis and creative visualization to focus your attention on the good qualities of your partner. Those that attracted you to them in the first place and the ones they have today that you may have been taking for granted.

And, yes, hypnosis can even rekindle passion.

Happy Valentine's Day

So, how is your love life this Valentine's Day? Happy with a partner? Happy without a partner? Unhappy with a partner? Happy without a partner?

And how about your relationship to living life? Engaged? Inspired? Or just coping, getting by?

Wherever you are, your most important relationship may be with yourself. How are you treating you? Are you kind, considerate and loving? Or annoyed and unforgiving.

I invite you to take a moment this Valentine's Day to take a look not only at your relationship to your significant (or insignificant or not-yet-existing) other, but with life in general and yourself in particular.

I was very young when I first heard the Beatles sing "All You Need is Love." But the older I get, the more I come to believe that they were absolutely right.

All any of us really do need is love.

I wish you a loving St. Valentine's Day,

Monday, February 22, 2010