I remember way back to when I was only twelve years old. My parents had decided to take me to see a mystical performer who made people into poultry.... Now this is something I had to see!
That Thursday night, I remember as clearly as yesterday. There was a stage hypnotist (Martin St. James for those who wonder) up ahead of hundreds of people, waving his hands around like a conjurer of the dead, talking about getting sleepy, letting go and going all the way down.
Being only young and having a mind that was easily bored, my mind was projecting itself into people up on the stage, wondering just what was going on in their heads.
It wasnt until I noticed these two huge gorilla-like council workers stomp their way up onto the stage, where what seemed seconds later were spinning around in circles, arm-in-arm as... the worlds' most beautiful swanlake ballerina dancers.
I was sold... my eyes were NOW open!
What I noticed from that night onward was how the rest of the world still had their eyes closed (no pun intended) when it came to Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. Here is something that can get right to a persons problems, something that everyone experiences daily, something that has existed for centuries and something that has gone under the radar - except for when the stray psychologist uses it incorrectly, then it's Page One!
Even I found myself gaining qualifications in areas of mental health that were deemed as more "socially acceptable", just to shirk my own false association with hypnosis and that of the dark arts. And now, as I look back on my own journey and chuckle, I wonder how many other people have found themselves doing something that doesnt mesh with them, all in the name of social acceptance...
A person can, you know, begin to think about all those times where they put other people's views ahead of their own. And whilst sometimes that is needed, sometimes it isnt. And in that moment of realisation, we awoke to our own destiny, dedications and direction.
I wonder just how much one can continue to develop before they let go of all those old negative belief structures and begin to step into something much more rewarding for them.
From my own experiences, people can in a single instant, STOP... and think differently. Now, I think THAT is worth think about, isnt it?
And now, as I think all the way back to that time, there... I wonder just where I will find myself in another 10, 20 and 30 years time. Perhaps it will be bright and blinding, I know i'll find myself grinning at least like a Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland :D
Why? You may ask? Because I love Hypnotherapy. I love being able to help people escape the possibility of a decade of psychotherapy in return for trusting themselves enough in Hypnosis. I love running into said psychotherapists and informing them how their referred client has healed and watching the therapist pull a face like they've just sat down to eat a plate full of juicy tangy lemons.
My view of success is to love life and love doing what you do best. For me, that is helping people with Hypnosis and their own wonderful and amazing abilities.
It seems my own awareness of my own development has coincided nicely with my views of society's awareness of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.
Perhaps my subconscious mind decided to allow me to mark time in other areas of work in order for society to open with more acceptance to hypnosis.
We all begin at the start and take step after step from there.
Where will your next steps be?