I emailed Mr. Langford for information on self-hypnosis. He was willing to share his thoughts with me. Here they are:

"What many people do not realize is that almost all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. What do I mean by that? Well to begin with, you cannot be forced into a hypnotic state in a clinical setting. You also cannot be forced to do something that is against your morals or ethics or to reveal secrets. The reason for this is that you never lose the ability to think about what the hypnotist is saying to you. You go into hypnosis voluntarily as the hypnotherapist guides you into the "trance" state. There are many misconceptions about hypnosis and one of the most prevalent is that when you are hypnotized you are under a spell or the power of the hypnotist. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When you are in hypnosis you never lose consciousness."

"I have hypnotized hundreds of people," Mr. Langford said, "And though quite a few of them did find it so relaxing that they fell asleep, no one ever lost consciousness or passed out. It simply doesn't happen. About one out of ten people is what is called a "somnambulist," meaning they are exceptional hypnosis subjects and go extremely deep into hypnosis and do not remember much if anything of what happened when they were hypnotized."

Mr. Langford went on to say,"But hypnosis is actually a focused state of concentration, so people who are hypnotized are actually able to concentrate and focus their minds better than when they are not hypnotized. That is why hypnosis is sometimes used by students before taking a test, to relieve test anxiety and to focus their attention.

Another interesting fact about hypnosis is that it is a natural state and everyone goes through the same brain-wave states of hypnosis at least twice a day when they are falling asleep and waking up. You naturally go through the same process when you start to calm down and fall asleep every day, so you can easily go into hypnosis with a little coaching and practice.

The best way to learn self-hypnosis is by using a CD that is custom tailored to your needs and that guides you into hypnosis with a simple progressive relaxation exercise. There are just a few simple steps, such as taking deep breaths and closing your eyes.

Once you have learned how to go into self-hypnosis you may use it for anything you want to change in your behavior. For instance, if you learn self-hypnosis to become a non-smoker, you may also use the same simple hypnosis techniques to hypnotize yourself and give yourself suggestions about weight loss."

Mr. Langford concluded the interview with this comment,"With hundreds of hours of clinical work with smokers I am an expert on finding the keys to quitting smoking, no matter how long you may have smoked or how impossible the task may seem. Hypnosis, the method I use to help smokers, was approved as an effective method by the American Medical Association."

If you have habits or behaviors that you don't want to have, self-hypnosis may be the answer you're looking for. And it may be easier than you think to learn.



Thanks to Lill Hawkins for contributing this article to our Hypnosis blog:

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