Ever tried to pass by that Milky Way bar in the grocery store and could swear it was actually speaking to you because the craving was so strong? Does even the IDEA of going to the dentist make your stomach start hatching butterflies? Becoming a non- smoker is number one on the list of "To-Do's" and yet it somehow never happens? Perhaps it is time to reframe your brain!

Hypnotic suggestions bypass the intellectual mind, called the conscious - what you are aware of thinking and doing, and zero in on the subconscious, the subprocesssor of the brain that whirls away whether we realize it or not. The International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association defines hypnosis as a process during which

"the body and conscious mind are in a relaxed neutral state while the subconscious mind remains awake and receptive to suggestion. Hypnosis is an education-communication process to a person's mind that allows his/her conscious and subconscious minds to believe the same message."

When given a new suggestion that is within the bounds of a person's belief system and moral orientation, the subconscious mind accepts it literally as a new reality. It's important to note that the subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between fantasy and reality. These decisions affect everyday life in remarkable ways. Illnesses can be made real. Relationships can be destroyed. Diets can be sabotaged.

For example: When one takes on "losing weight', the message that the subconscious processes is to "lose" weight. We've been previously programmed "not to lose" and the first thing our mind will try to do is FIND it! (ever lose your keys? Don't you immediately look for them? Don't you sometimes make a spare set in case you lose them again?) This is the same procedure our mind uses to "lose weight". It makes all efforts to find the weight lost and gives you more to make sure you'll never lose it again!

The same with smoking. Haven't we been told as child to NEVER BE A QUITTER? When our mind hears we are going to "quit smoking" it gives us cravings to make sure we never do it! It is only when we "become a non-smoker, or become thin and trim"" that our mind takes an easier path. Can you remember when you were little and you wanted to "become" like someone that you admired? Your mind takes the same path. It then becomes easier and excited to achieve without having to lose or quit anything! It kind of tricks the mind, so to speak.

Hypnotherapy's effectiveness lies in this complex connection between the mind and the body. It's well understood today that illness can affect your emotional state and conversely, that your emotional state can affect your physical state. Two examples: stress, an emotional reaction, can make heart disease worse and a heart disease, a physical condition, can cause depression i.e. imagine that one is sick and suddenly the pain is very, very real.

Hypnosis carries this "mind/body" connection to the next logical step by using the power of the mind to bring about change in the body. For example, I recently had this client who came in with a bad lower backache. Knowing that an emotional issue causing stress around lower back pain could be associated with "fear of not being financially supported", I asked her if that was true for her in her life.

She worked for a firm that had been financially struggling and they haven't been able to pay her for weeks and she felt "taken advantage of". When she stored the stressful emotion of "feeling taking advantage of", it became stored in her lower back. Emotional pain had become real pain. When we did some reframing around the event and she saw/believed it in a different light, her backache subsided. A positive change in her attitude resulted in a positive change in her physical being. The remarkable event that happened was the moment she gave up the suffering around the issue associated with her backache, her phone rang and it was an offer for another job!

Hypnotherapy does come with a few caveats. It cannot change what you are not consciously wanting to change. You have to be willing for the change to take place. It can not be used against your will. It is, however, another tool to transform your life. It's a way to "Retrain Your Brain"!

Elaine M. (Ellie) McFalls, MCHt. Is a Master Certified Hypnotherapist located at 620 South Elm Street, Suite 304, Greensboro, NC 27406. Owner of Masteryworks Inc and affiliated with Triad Behavioral Resources, PLLC. 336 362-4170.

Member of the American Board of Hypnotherapy, International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, International Association of Counselors and Therapists and National Guild of Hypnotists. She is also an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner.

Only person in NC to be certified in Forensics Hypnosis 1 & 2. Also offer Parts Therapy for fibromyalgia, IBS, Weight, Fears, Phobias and more. Hypno-Anesthesia, Pain Management, and Smoking Cessation programs available. (groups and individuals). www.masteryworksinc.com or www.triadbehavioralresources.com