Any time you gaze into the hot coals of a campfire, stare at the clouds as they form pictures in the sky,
or stargaze at the Milky Way, you are in a light stage of hypnosis.

There is nothing mysterious about this. It is a way to quiet everyday noise and relax into your subconscious.

Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not a state of deep sleep. The client cannot be made to do anything they would not ordinarily do, and are not vulnerable to every given command of the hypnotist. It does involve the induction of a trance-like condition, but when in it, the patient is actually in an enhanced state of awareness, concentrating entirely on the hypnotist's voice. In this state, the conscious mind is suppressed and the subconscious mind is revealed.

Monte is able to suggest ideas, concepts and lifestyle adaptations to the patient, the seeds of which become firmly planted.

"Hypnosis usually involves the person experiencing a sense of deep relaxation with their attention narrowed down, and focused on appropriate suggestions made by the hypnotist."

Hypnosis aims to re-program patterns of behavior within the mind, enabling irrational fears, phobias, negative thoughts and suppressed emotions to be overcome.

How does it work?

Hypnosis is thought to work by altering our state of consciousness in such a way that the analytical left-hand side of the brain is turned off, while the non-analytical right-hand side is made more alert. The conscious control of the mind is inhibited, and the subconscious mind awoken. Since the subconscious mind is a deeper-seated, more instinctive force than the conscious mind, this is the part which has to change for the patient's behaviour and physical state to alter.

For example, a patient who consciously wants to overcome their fear of spiders may try everything they consciously can to do it, but will still fail as long as their subconscious mind retains this terror and prevents the patient from succeeding. Progress can only be made be reprogramming the subconscious so that deep-seated instincts and beliefs are abolished or altered.

The important thing is that the client wants to change some behavioral habit or addiction and is highly motivated to do so.

The readiness and ability of clients to be hypnotized varies considerably and generally (but not always) requires several sessions in order to achieve meaningful results.

However the patient can learn the technique of self-hypnosis from Monte, which can be practiced at home to reinforce the usefulness of formal sessions with the hypnotist.

This can help counter distress and anxiety-related conditions.