Power of Suggestion

Here's an unusual post-orgasmic comment: "Can you help me with my weight too?"

Actually, it's not so uncommon. After demonstrating that I can control mind and body in sexual ways, I'm sometimes asked about other personal matters and whether I can suggest changes.

It's nothing mysterious or invasive. You just do what a friend would do: Ask questions, and suggest little positive changes that get at the root of a problem. Only instead of making the suggestions over coffee at Starbucks, you make the suggestion during trance to the subconscious. (That's also sometimes over coffee at Starbucks, as it happens.)

Self-confidence: Sandy would apologize after almost every little sex act: "I'm not very good at that," she'd say. It got to be a real drag, especially since it wasn't true at all. It turned out this attitude was a gift from a persuasive former boyfriend who had mocked her sexuality at every opportunity. I thought about removing her memory of that boyfriend entirely, but that could be awkward. So I told her subconscious: "Whenever Sandy gets undressed, remove her memory of Jack." She still despises Jack, but he doesn't bug her in bed anymore.

Weight: An attractive woman, who had put on a lot of weight, said she'd done it to cut down on unwanted attention from strangers. Only it wasn't working: She was still attractive, but stuck with all these pounds. Since she's actually no pushover, and the attention she described seemed like harmless flirting, I suggested to her subconscious a new attitude. When someone tosses a compliment her way, I said, visualize a gold coin dropping into her lap. And now she quietly enjoys the accumulated wealth rather than accumulating weight.

Trust: Maggie, a woman who has had a couple too many "love 'em and leave 'em" boyfriends, found herself distrusting almost everyone in her life and automatically questioning their motives. Every new potential boyfriend was assumed to be as bad as the last, and she wasted a lot of time obsessing about it. Her subconscious told me this was really getting in the way, that Maggie actually had good taste in men, friends and colleagues. So a little later, knowing that the subconscious was listening in, I offered Maggie an independent trustworthiness rating tool. She helped design it. Now, when she looks at someone she knows, and scratches her nose, a little stoplight appears next to the person, with red, yellow or green illuminated, suggesting how much trust to place in them. With the question answered, she can stop worrying about it.

More weight: Come to think of it, I've helped three women with their weight, by quietly enlisting their subconsciouses in different strategies, whatever seemed appropriate. Darlene's subconscious, Nina, has grabbed hold of the food choices: same schedule, healthier choices. Shelly's subconscious makes sure her arms don't work when she tries to reach for junk food or late-night snacks. Sandy discovered that she's unable to eat the second half of a sandwich anymore.

Relaxation: One of the most appealing things about hypnosis is the relaxing induction that takes you there. Never mind all the clever post-hypnotic effects, just being able to utterly check out of the day's worries and mental distractions for a few minutes is highly appealing. So I've given a couple of women "triggers" that they can use whenever they want, to send themselves into trance for 10 minutes.

The key to these working, as with so much of hypnosis, is that both the conscious and subconscious want to make it happen. It's all within the mind's power already; my suggestions really just remind them that it's possible.