Way To Go, Godot!

Hypnosis is a sort of spooky and misunderstood phenomenon. Most of what people generally know about hypnosis comes from movies and stage performers, not real clinical hypnotists.

You may not even realize that clinical hypnosis is a very well-established and scientifically validated medical practice. It’s used by psychotherapists, physicians, nurses, dentists, and anesthesiologists to produce a profound sense of serenity in patients who might otherwise be really freaking out. As it turns out, hypnosis is an incredibly versatile and powerful psychological technique, so it would be in your best interests to know a little bit about it and to be open to the idea.

With that in mind, I’ll dispel some of the major myths about hypnosis and tell you some far-out realities about it as well:

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A million authors have written a million articles about amping up your creativity for a minute or two at a time. This article is different, because I intend to help you develop a full strategy for boosting your creativity whenever you need it and as much as you need.

The first thing to get a grasp of is exactly what creativity is. Creativity is novelty. When someone does something unexpected, we refer to that as a creative choice.

The only way to make unexpected decisions is to see some of the unexpected options which are open to you. This is what people tend to find the most difficult, because there is ultimately no way to really expect the unexpected. You have to find a way to open your eyes to something that has been in front of you all along. And that is creativity. Creativity is perspective.

So here’s how to open your eyes:

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In my work with sufferers of chronic pain, I’ve taught hundreds of people to practice mindfulness meditation. I do this not only because mindfulness meditation is in itself an effective treatment for chronic pain, but also because it helps the practitioner to manage their thoughts and emotions more effectively. It can help you to boost your creativity and can even improve your hypnotic ability.

Mindfulness meditation is probably the simplest form of meditation. It is deceptively simple; a lot of people have difficulty understanding how doing so little can have such deep and powerful effects on well-being. In studies with headache patients practicing mindfulness meditation every day for just 20 minutes a day, the most notable psychological effect of the practice was a pervasive sense of improved control. This is a common experience for people who take up the practice of mindfulness meditation:

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