The conscious mind, which houses our logic, reason, decisiveness, rationale, and willpower, is only about 12% of our mind power. So the subconscious, which drives ALL our behavior, comprises the remaining 88%. The really good news is that we can align both these storehouses so that we have 100% of our power supporting us in attaining our goals. Think of it like this:  the subconscious is a machine…like your car or your computer. While both are powerful machines, they are really just big heaps of metal that are only as effective as their driver or operator.  The conscious mind is the “brain” and the subconscious is the “brawn,” and the very good news is that the subconscious is extremely obedient. It indiscriminately follows any order it is given. Can your car discern whether you drive to Vegas or New York City? Does your computer judge whether you work on Excel or Power Point? Do they care? So, you can drive or be driven. ou can allow your subconscious to keep driving you with beliefs like “I’m a fat pig” or “I could never make $100,000 a year” or “It’s impossible to quit smoking,” and your subconscious will manifest those statements as reality for you. Similarly, it is immaterial to your subconscious mind (and your car and computer!) if you are a smoker, freak out around the opposite sex, bite your nails, have a sexual dysfunction, achieve your goals, suffer from insomnia, have writer’s block, fear flying or public speaking, etc.

Understanding this theory of the mind empowers us to access and utilize the enormous power we were born with so that we can live rich, full lives and attract the ideal mate, create a fulfilling career, earn a dream salary, and free the inner winner. There is simply no need to live as a hopeless victim of our subconscious. We were born to win, and winning can be our default setting. Hypnosis is a powerful modality in which we can harness the vast personal power that we ALL innately have. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Do you know a naturally brilliant person who can never seem to get out of his/her own way and constantly operates beneath his/her potential? Conversely, do you know someone of average intelligence who is wildly successful and always wins? Perhaps man is not created equal when it comes to inherent intelligence and abilities, but personal power is certainly a level playing field.  Just like we all have the same 24 hours in a day and seven days a week, we all have the ability to plug into our own power source.

Therapeutic hypnosis is unlike stage hypnosis in that it is conducted in a private clinical setting, one-on-one, like traditional psychotherapy, and basically does for the mind what massage therapy does for the body. The hypnotherapist treats one issue at a time, honing in on the learned obstacle(s) that is blocking one’s path to freedom and through the deep state of relaxation, the client can gain rapid relief.

Michaelangelo once stated that to create a masterpiece, he looked at a raw chunk of marble, visualized his final sculpture in it, and simply carved away what was not part of his vision. Designing your life works the same way. There is a masterpiece in us all waiting to be free. Grab yourself by the gold and shake off the dirt. By plumbing the depths of the subconscious, your inner winner emerges. 

As a doctor of psychology and a therapeutic hypnotist, I know for a fact that we are all born to win. We learn to lose, and what we learn, we can un-learn.

A precious baby enters the world as a completely open conduit of love, acceptance, trust, and joy. Barring any predisposed physiological conditions or addictions, the infant does not have any desire for self-defeating thoughts or habits. It never enters the infant’s mind that its every desire cannot be met.  Alas, we learn to lose. We learn to lower our expectations and to sabotage ourselves, and then come to believe that we deserve less or none at all.  A baby has no desire for a cigarette, self-deprecation, or numbing out. The good news is that whatever negative habits or beliefs we learned, we can un-learn, and return to that natural infantile state of bliss. There is a plethora of modalities for un-learning and healing, one of which is therapeutic hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state and has been studied for centuries. A far cry from the “squawk like a chicken or sing like Elvis” stereotype of stage hypnosis, all of us unconsciously experience the hypnotic trance on a daily basis. We are all self-healing vessels, and our bodies naturally take us to this necessary state so that we can decompress and recharge. We bookend our day in trance: we wake up in a highly suggestible state, and return to that state upon retiring for the night. Have you ever waked up or gotten in bed and felt like you were “zoning out?” Like you were “out of it” even though you were really still awake?  That’s trance. And it’s an extremely valuable state for accessing your personal power. There is absolute gold in the mine of your mind. While it is important to monitor our self-talk at all times, it is crucial to do so in trance, as the subconscious is fertile soil for manifesting what you affirm during these powerful, vulnerable times. If one affirms healthy, supportive, positive beliefs and goals, rapid change can be effected with repetition and vigilance, whether or not one consciously believes it can or not. 

Dr. Irwin is a doctor of psychology and certified hypnotherapist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California.. She practices Neurolinguistic Programming, Emotion Free Therapy and Time Line Therapy as adjuncts to therapeutic hypnosis.  310/235-2882. www.drnancyirwin.com www.YouTube/DrNancyIrwin.

The nice thing about aging these days is that the very best people are doing it, and, as a group, we are in fine company. What this information means to the business world is that thousands of companies worldwide are selling their figurative souls to discover, manufacture and distribute the ultimate anti-aging breakthroughs—external and internal. But ladies and gentlemen, first things first, and that’s where your face comes in.

Some of the newest weapons in the fight against wrinkles, spots, and sagging are listed below. The options are sure to confuse you, but you can barely go wrong by testing out one and then another. Most of these work to a greater or lesser degree, so while you are waiting for the magic bullet like the rest of us, experimentation is the operative word.

1. Fractional CO2 skin resurfacing. This is a laser therapy that combines the effectiveness of traditional carbon dioxide lasers with a new delivery system that provides powerful results without the scary side effects. Approximate cost: $5,000.
2. Wrinkle injections. In 2003, the FDA approved Restylane, and last year four new fillers hit the marketplace: Perlane, Juvederm, Artifill, and Radiesse. Each one is geared for a particular part of the face, and some are most permanent than others, although not without the risk of side effects. Approximate cost: $600 to $1,000 per syringe.
3. Peptides. Small proteins stimulate skin cells for a quicker turnover of collagen, mimicking the process of younger skin.
4. Anti-oxidants. Over-the-counter skin care fights free radicals that destroy your collagen supply. A few of the many lines currently available to the public are: Neutrogena, Clinique, Prescriptives, and Lumene. Approximate cost: $17.99 to $48 for a one-ounce supply.