Too Much Paralaysis Leads to Analysis

Milton H. Erickson, the Godfather of hypnosis, was born on the 5th December 1901 in a rural community in Aurum, Nevada. At the age of 17 he was paralysed by polio and could just hear and move his eyes. While ill he began to study peoples speech patterns and body language. Gradually he recovered the use of his body mainly through the use of imagination and then trained as a doctor. He later qualified as a psychiatrist and used hypnosis as an effective therapeutic technique.

He was interested in indirect hypnosis and language strategies. For example he might ask a patient if they wanted to go into a trance now or later. Regardless of which choice is made the result is that the patient is agreeing to go into a trance. AlternatiLvely he might ask them if they had ever been in a trance before as the 'before' suggested that they were about to go into one. He firmly believed that the unconscious mind was always listening and open to suggestion if the suggestion had resonance at an unconscious level. He saw the unconscious mind as creative and capable of generating solutions.He encouraged patients to withhold information which in effect gave control to the patient over what they might divulge and when, and the upshot being they relaxed on withholding.

His theories are now known as Ericksonian Therapy and was modeled by Richard Bandler and John Grinder the founders of Neuro Linguistic Programming(NLP).

Paul McKenna works with Richard Bandler on NLP. Richard Bandler says that through NLP you can learn to do new things for yourself - different things - beyond the edges of what you thought possible before. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. At the moment I am experimenting with Change Your Life in 7 Days and if you would like to read about it you can at Defog My Mind .