- THE GIFT OF THE YEAR: HOW TO RECOVER A FORTUNE BY USING HYPNOTHERAPY
(30 Dec 2017). Some desperate early Bitcoin investors who forgot their password are now sitting on untapped bounties, but thanks to hypnotherapy some of them have been able to recover the lost recall and to get again into their digital wallets! Note that the Bitcoin price run in 2017 has been phenomenal: from $900 to $20,000; that is a rise of 2222% in less that one year! And few years ago 1 Bitcoin was worth less than $1, therefore you can be assured that many millennials are now millionaires :-)
- HYPNOGENIC ITALEXIT
(30 Nov 2017). While in June 2016 my post's title "Hypnogenic Brexit!" announced a positive content, this time my post's title "Hypnogenic Italexit" is, on the contrary, negative; in fact during this month Italy has missed three internationally-relevant targets, because Italy won't participate to the 2018 FIFA world cup in Russia (for first time since 1958), Italy won't become the new location of the EMA (European Medicine Agency, which will relocate from London to Amsterdam), and Italy won't become the new location of the EBA (European Banking Agency, which will relocate from London to Paris); sadly, certain countries go backwards instead of forward.
- ARE SUGGESTIONS LAWFUL?
(30 Oct 2017). Those who know me also know what I think about hypnotic suggestions and behavioral advices; now, since according to a constant interpretation of the Italian Supreme Court of "Cassazione", the crime of assault (for which there is a punishment of up to four years of imprisonment) includes "whatsoever means suitable for compressing the freedom of the victim to determinate and act, that is it can be even an improper assault carried out through the utilization of abnormal means aimed at exerting pressure on the other people's will, so that their free determination is hindered", I strongly believe that it is not legitimate to tell people what to do, how to behave, and how to live. In fact the concept of moral freedom should be interpreted as a freedom to spontaneously self-determinate according to personal motives, which necessarily presupposes not only the power of freely develop the individual will, but also the opportunity of orienting personal behaviors in a direction that respects the determinations taken autonomously; from all of this it can be inferred by logical reasoning that any meddling into such inviolable freedom is a crime. Consequently, in my opinion, suggestions and behavioral advices can be, potentially or actually, criminal actions. Moreover, if one considers that even the mere unauthorized observation of a behavior can constitute an assault crime (Cassazione, fifth penal section, sentence n. 40291/2017), it seems to me evident that, in absence of an explicit consent to be passively subjected to certain actions, we are certainly in presence of a crime.
- MP3, THAT IS (M)ASQUERADE TO THE (P)OWER OF (3), NOT TO SAY SCAM!
(19 Sep 2017). Some people listen free MP3 with a music in background and a voice that utters things like the following: "and now you are relaxing, and now you are feeling better, and you are becoming stronger", and so on; other people, then, more gullible and simpleton, do worse: they meet a 'professional' in order to listen these MP3 and they even pay a fee for that! For the consumer protection, I believe that the voice in the MP3 should also suggest this: "and the more you listen to this crap and the more you prove your gullibility"; these opinions of mine are based on three valid reasons (this is why I have talked in terms of masquerade to the third power): 1) all the true experts in hypnosis know that the so-called suggestions are accepted by a person only if they are pleasant, otherwise they are rejected; and so why should one suggest pleasant things given that anybody would do them in any case by herself/himself without the need of wasting money in order to be spurred by someone? 2) each person reacts to stimuli in a peculiar way, and everyone is different, but the MP3 file is as is, and it cannot dynamically adapt to the client, because the recorded content goes on as programmed, independently of the listener's reactions; therefore that's not only a masquerade, but it's also a form of total disregard toward the person, because (s)he is put into a situation of absolute passivity, where (s)he can only listen and withstand; and lastly 3) the employment of these MP3 is without a doubt another clue of the increasing submission of people to every sort of abuses; moreover, the MP3 case is even more serious because the submission is voluntary (in fact a psychiatric patient cannot take position against a straightjacket, just as a baby cannot escape a vaccination, while here we are in front of adult people who pay for a role play where they basically accept to become victims of an economic exploitation); someone could put forward excuses as: "I didn't know, I trusted in that, I have been deceived", but in my opinion the only possible reply is this: "impostors exist only where suckers exist".
- HYPNOLOGIC REPORT (N. 140): THREE YEARS OF RELIEF AFTER TWO HYPNOLOGY SESSIONS
(30 Aug 2017). A man under treatment for GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease) was searching for a complement to the medical therapies, and wanted me to train him hypnotically; he said: "since the psychological and psychotherapeutic help has been completely useless, I don't want any longer such help, also because it costs a lot, and the last session never comes; in short, I want to learn something useful which I can do at home by myself, in autonomy.. you know, I am unemployed, and I don't have money to waste"; during the hypnological training the client developed a very high level of concentration and wellbeing, and a clarity of mind that surprised him; after two sessions, one-hour each, he has learned the exercises very well, and for at least three years he continued to enjoy a great relief of his reflux, despite that was not the reason why he asked to do hypnosis.
- HYPNOLOGIC REPORT (N. 139): THE SYMPTOMINS
(29 Jul 2017). A person stopped me in the street and told me: "I have been able to break free.. I thank you a lot". This person was regularly seeing X (a psychologist) since several years, and she cannot end those sessions because the psychologist continued to scare her by repeating every time that she still had certain "symptomins" which, if not treated, were able to dramatically worsen her mental situation; my comment had been simply this: "the so-called symptomins disappear miraculously and immediately as soon as one stops paying the sessions".
- BAD NEWS FOR THERAPISTS, GOOD NEWS FOR HYPNOLOGISTS
(26 Jun 2017). At the website "http://woebot.io" I have just found the following testimonial: "Loved Woebot, definitely felt like was a replacement for my counselor. More useful in that I learned things from Woebot instead of just having someone listen and give feedback". Now, what is this Woebot which is deemed more useful than a counselor? Well, it's just an app for the mobile phone! In fact the website says: "Hi, I'm Woebot. I'm ready to listen, 24/7. No couches, no meds, no childhood stuff. Just strategies to improve your mood. And the occasional dorky joke". Then, about the price, it says: "Here's how much I cost. Guess what? Our first 14 sessions together are free!" (after that, the cost ranges from 6 dollars per week to a maximum of 12 dollars per week). Such an offer seems too good to be true, but Woebot on the website tells the reader: "In a randomized controlled trial at Stanford University, college students who chatted with me significantly reduced symptoms of depression in just 2 weeks"; here the website gives also a link to the published scientific material, which offers evidence that psychotherapy can be delivered by an artificial intelligence, with the satisfaction of the patient, who also saves a lot of money. Consequently, it is likely that only non-profit talking therapists (priests, volunteers, etc.) will survive chatbots, while for the others the actual risk is to completely disappear from the market; in addition, since the chatbot therapist is scientifically already effective at the present time, while, at least for now, artificial intelligence is still a moron in comparison with the human intelligence, it seems absolutely legitimate to deduce that a very low-level and immature intelligence is sufficient for delivering a satisfactory talking therapy. Fortunately for the hypnologists, hypnology is not a psychotherapy nor a talking therapy, and in fact it cannot be delivered; this is why you will never see on the market any mobile phone app which is able to replace a human hypnologist.
- SCIENTIFIC UPDATE
(28 May 2017). The new free collection of 2367 selected scientific abstracts on hypnosis is available (see the document PHD here).
- APRIL FOOL?
(01 Apr 2017). "Everything is backwards, everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, psychiatrists destroy minds, scientists destroy truth, major media destroys information, religions destroy spirituality and governments destroy freedom" (Michael Ellner).
- HYPNOLOGIC REPORT (N. 138): TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE
(21 Mar 2017). A woman came into my office with her husband and said: "whenever I take the plane I feel fear, and I don't want to make fearful also my child; since psychotherapy has been completely useless, I searched for something different as an alternative, and I would like to try hypnosis". After several minutes of hypnotic training, the woman addressed her husband saying: "I am on board, on the plane!"; the husband started on the chair: "what are you saying? You are in doctor Torelli's office"; she replied: "I know, but I feel myself on board, I'm on the plane despite being here in the office.. that's unbelievable"; since that moment on, the husband continued interrupting, disturbing, and asking questions; and since his wife was visibly becoming irritated because her husband's incredulity, I told him: "sorry if I intervene, but you are here as a chaperon, and therefore it is unfair to steal precious time to your wife making her nervous.. listen to me, now sit comfortably, watch what's happening, don't disturb, relax, and remain silent, if you can, thank you!"; the husband immediately replied to me: "actually I'm under treatment for my irritable bowel, but seeing what my wife is doing now my belly is fine, and that is surprising for me, and so I want to try hypnosis too"; I offered him to take advantage of the situation and to be a relaxed spectator utilizing his wife, and then I asked her to tell his husband what was happening, and she said that she was more and more definitely on board; her husband was completely unable to believe her words, and the more he was asking explanations to his wife, and the more she was going deep into a trance; and when I said to the husband: "you are bringing your wife into a deep somnambulistic state.. therefore, contrary to what I told you few minutes ago, instead of staying silent, please continue to talk and ask freely!"; at that point also the husband entered into a somnambulistic trance, and while he was talking with his wife he began to rub his belly with his hand, and when I asked why he was doing so, he replied: "I don't know, my hand is moving by itself"; after that one session the husband remembered almost nothing of the trance events, and he just reported that he has been always conscious, and that however he was in a situation where a voice was speaking on the outside, but he was elsewhere with his mind; moreover he said that symptoms of irritable bowel were greatly decreased (such reduction persisted in time for at least two years); his wife, additionally, remembered only the "flight in the office" and the fact that I have explained that I could teach them a self-control method, and she reported that she used such method and got great benefits from it (the improvement lasted at least one year).
- IT'S TIME TO AWAKEN FROM HIBERNATION
(28 Feb 2017). By now it's almost springtime, therefore.. "it is time to awaken to a simple truth, and that is: there is no help but self-help" (Bruce Lee, 1971); and furthermore: "in martial arts we have an assortment of routine performers, trick artists, cream puffs, organized despair.. but you will have to find out your way all by yourself". Also in the so-called helping relationships there are similar problems; fortunately, however, "if you want something done, do it yourself"; in fact, for example, I have personally trained a seven-years old child to build up with his parents a relationship that made possible to recover easily and quickly the lost harmony in the family; facts like this are extreme cases, but they nonetheless prove clearly that it is perfectly possible to learn to help other people in a very short time, without any diploma, despite being immature and naive, and without studying any book (that is without spending one cent); the secret is to remove the theory (which is for its 99% the true obstacle to success) and go straight to the point. But for now the winter is still here, therefore the intellectual hibernation can continue.
- HYPNOLOGIC REPORT (N. 137): THE JANUARY HEALING
(31 Jan 2017). In order to complete his professional hypnotherapy training, a student called a very experienced therapist for a session of hypno-analytical work about his unconscious insecurities and also for experimenting the trance as a client; this therapist spent an hour and half explaining her method, which required many sessions and not certainly one as the student wanted, and then she spent another hour asking questions of any kind; then, at last, the therapist started with her hypnotic inductions, but after almost half hour the student, caught by despair, said to himself: "I must to enter into a trance by myself because this therapist is just wasting time"; his desire to compensate the therapist's inadequacy was so strong that the client went into a trance in a very short time, then cried briefly and unexpectedly, and then concluded by saying: "I just had a dream where I watched myself on a sidewalk when I was a baby, and that scene really moved me"; then he paid the therapist, left her office, and refused further sessions, contrary to the suggestions of the therapist. After several months the student, at that point certified and ready to practice, called again that therapist but, this time, only in order to get some supervision for his practice, but she answered with these words: "my only concern is for my clients, of which you are one [..]. When the analysis is over, there is no contact between the analyst and the analysand [..]. Therefore, if you had been seeking further analysis I would have been happy to see you, but, for your sake, it would be most unwise to see you for any other reason. They are the rules, not just my opinion [..]. I am really happy for you that you feel that you have solved your problems, and I am sure that you will become an excellent therapist"; at that point the hypnotherapist contacted me in order to get a professional supervision, which I started in this way: "since that therapist knows that, for your refusal, there will be no analytical work, and that, for her refusal, there will be neither a non-analytical work, why does she continue to say that you are her client? (He: That's right.. why did she use the present tense? Is it a pen slip?) She is clearly projecting on you a relationship that is no longer actual (In fact she wanted me to undergo other sessions, at least ten) In fact when you contacted her she didn't tell you 'you have solved' but 'you feel that you have solved' (She presupposes that I have problems because I didn't want to take orders from her) And, oddly enough, she also said that you will become an excellent hypnotherapist, and therefore, if she tells you that you will became excellent, she is also telling you that now you are not excellent (She is devaluing me again.. these manipulations are practically invisible.. how can people safeguard themselves?) It is enough to keep in mind that in any interpersonal relationship with fee, the one who pays is the one who decides, otherwise (s)he is doomed to economical exploitation.. in January you got your epiphany, or healing, or enlightenment, call it as you want.. and you are no longer a client of that therapist.. you also told her that you are very well despite her anticipations, but she didn't believe you.. therefore if she negates your reality that's her problem.. technically it's her counter-transference, do you see it?) (Now I do.. a last thing: I don't like the expression 'interpersonal relationship with fee' because that reminds me prostitution) Well, everybody needs intimate and private interpersonal relationships, and if these are not available free of charge, then people are willing to pay for them (Hence the relationship in exchange for money is the true source of exploitation) Yes, it's the relationship, not the content of it, for money creates a conflict of interests, and therefore you cannot keep a complete trust any longer into that type of relationship.. you talked about prostitution.. well, then you can meditate on the well known fact that sometimes a client pays sex professionals for being listened to by them in their beds, and some other times pays listening professionals for having sex with them in their offices".
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