One, two, three -- bark!

Is that what your mind conjures when people talk about being hypnotized? Yeah, us too. And we don't bark for anybody -- not without a few stiff drinks. So when the idea of hypnotherapy came up, we were instantly skeptical.

But last week, Rob and Kelly, with New Year's resolutions weighing on their minds (and World Hypnotism Day on the calendar on Jan. 4), visited two local hypnotists, both of whom are registered nurses. Could these suggestive soothsayers convince us that hypnotism was therapy, and not just parlor trick?

Count backward from 10 and join us for a real trip.

Q & A WITH THE EXPERTS

Our experts were Beth Keil, master hypnotist with Delaware Hypnosis Partners, LLC and Myrna Moxham, certified hypnotherapist with Mind Matters.

Can anyone be hypnotized? Anyone who wants to be hypnotized will achieve a nice level of hypnosis. They also need an IQ of 70 or above and must be at least 4 years old, in addition to that desire to be hypnotized. -- Beth

Should hypnotherapists have some sort of medical background? I actually consider myself more a hypnotist than a hypnotherapist, because I'm not doing psychotherapy. But as far as a medical training, it's certainly not required, but it can only enhance one's knowledge of the mind-body relationship. -- Beth

Can bad or unhappy memories be erased, like in the movie, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?"

Well, I don't know the movie, but in terms of removing bad memories, it's not what I do. If you are erasing a memory, you don't get the benefit that bad experience provides. If you lose that info, that's not valuable, and odds are you'll fall into the same trap later on.

If you want to forget him or her (which I'm imagining is most common), I won't do that, but I'll help you understand what went wrong and give you the info to make different and better choices in the future. That understanding will both enhance and enrich your life. -- Beth Can you hypnotize someone to obey your commands?

No, hypnosis is a heightened state of concentration and focused attention, it is not mind control. -- Myrna

How many sessions are recommended?

It is difficult to predict the number of sessions needed to accomplish a goal because a great deal depends upon the willingness of the participant to accept the suggestions. Hypnosis is generally very short therapy though, with the goal being to empower the client to use the techniques of "self hypnosis." -- Myrna

Is it true someone can experience what's called highway hypnosis? If so, what is it, and can it happen in other phases of your life?

Yes, and most people have experienced this state of mind many times. In fact, most people experience this state of mind many times every day. Think of the last time you pulled into the driveway and wondered, "What have I been doing for the last mile?"

During that time you were in daydream-like state, a focused state of awareness called hypnosis. It is normal and natural and everyone experiences it every day. -- Myrna

ON THE LOW ROAD WITH ROB

There are areas of my own brain I haven't visited in a long time, maybe ever. Some are dark alleys, some shadowy corners. Some are brightly lit paths, others are foggy little alcoves. Some I've avoided, like a drawer full of old paperwork. Some I've simply overlooked, like an old photo album among dusty books.

But when I rested my weary body in hypnotist Beth Keil's La-Z-Boy recliner, exhausted from the travels, tribulations and toxicity of the holidays, my brain was ready to be led down all those little pathways.

1

I quickly looked around the room, my eyes searching for abstract art, dream catchers, perhaps incense burning. None of that was present though. Just a filing cabinet, some chairs and a desk. Didn't exactly strike me as a room where life-altering changes take place.

2

Beth began with what you'd expect when undergoing hynosis: counting backward, uttering suggestive words like, "deeper," "relaxed," and "quiet." Within minutes, despite my Spark counterparts sitting in the room watching me, I was submerged in my own psyche.

?* * * *

And ... I'm under now. My fingers are resting on the arms of the recliner and they feel heavier than my feet. And my feet? They feel like heavy dumbbells that have been sewn into the fabric. I'm completely relaxed, staring at the backs of my eyelids, yet I know what's going on.

3

Every once in a while I hear a giggle. I hear someone shifting in their seat. But my mind quickly focuses back on the voice, as she begins recounting the goals I've come to work on: getting back to the gym, learning French, finishing projects that I began long ago.

After assuring me that I can make changes in my life, with relative ease, Beth brings me to a fork in the road. The low road represents the future me, having ignored the changes I want to make, while the high road, represents a better, future me.

My mind flickers between images of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," and the giant literal fork in the road from The Muppet Movie. But I refocus, taking the bad news first, and mentally meandering down the low road.

4

For a little bit, Beth chastises me for not making the changes, looking at myself one, three, five, 10 years in the future. She asks me to look around and think about the faces I see on this path. For a minute, I become a little startled at the faces that pop up.

Looking at some of these familiar faces, both long-time friends and relatives alike, I wonder if they're holding me back in any way. Should I consider distancing myself from them? Before I can answer, she pulls me back to the fork, where now I'll take the high road.

Things are brighter here. I feel healthier, better about myself -- even proud of myself -- and am guilt-free as I look years into the future.

5

Beth asks me to picture myself in France. I'm at a cafe, reading the menu with ease, even helping others around me to understand the language. I feel myself smirking.

She asks why things are easier for me to accomplish, why I've gone back to the gym, finished the projects I'd put off for so long, learned French and visited France countless times since?

Like some posterboy for Nike hypno-gear, I mutter, "I just do it."

She reinforces these images I've had, with some positive keywords, and begins to draw me back out of the hypnotic state. One of the first questions she asks me is how long it felt like I was under, to which I answer, "Oh, about 10 or 15 minutes."

6

"More like 35 or 40 minutes," she says, pointing to her watch. For the rest of the day, I'm somewhat cloudy, going over the images in my head again, but happy I was able to keep an open mind and enjoy the hypnotic experience.

Now to hit the gym and listen to those French tapes.

?* * * *

I'm not sure whether it was the hypnotherapy or the 10 hours of sleep I got, but the next day I awoke at 6:30 a.m. ready to conquer the world. Of course, I didn't conquer the world that day, but hey, baby steps, right?

I felt completely refreshed, and considering the couple weeks I've had with some exhausting holiday events, it was welcomed. And my attitude the rest of the next day was on a positive note.

Over the weekend I made a severe dent in my pile of paperwork that's been filling the drawers of my nightstand, and I made it through Lesson 1 of my French language tapes. Hopefully this week I'll get around to renewing that gym membership.

Kelly's footnotes

1. Two of those chairs were filled with Jessica and myself, camera and notebook in hand.

2. Rob looked like he was just dead asleep in the chair. He was so relaxed that when Beth picked up his arm, it wobbled around like a wet noodle.

3. I couldn't help it. The giggle came when she picked up his arm.

4. She really did chastise Rob. Her voice took on the tone that my mom used to use when I didn't clean my room.

5. All of Rob's answers are mumbled, and I have to strain to hear him. It's like he's so relaxed he can barely be bothered to move his lips.

6. When Beth was taking Rob under the first time, she asked him if it were okay, that if the next time they worked together, all she would have to do to put him under was to take his hand and say "sleep."

That sounded like a load of hooey to me, so once Rob was awake, I asked her if that would really happen. Instead of telling me, she showed me. Beth had Rob press his palm against hers, pressing harder and harder, and while he was concentrating on that, she said "sleep" and his hand just dropped. His dead dropped back, and his arm went to full wet noodle state.

Jessica and I were in awe, and at the same time we couldn't quite control our giggles.

KELLY FIGHTS HER INNER MONOLOGUE

My first experience with hypnotism involved a lounge on a cruise ship, a few cosmopolitans and my sister, on a stage with a hypnotist, acting as if she were a flight attendant showing passengers where the emergency exits were located.

The next time hypnotism came into my life was on a much more serious note -- work. I was watching Rob go into a deep state of relaxation and mumble answers to his hypnotist. That experience only solidified that hypnosis is, in fact, a real thing.

And that freaks me out.

The idea of someone poking around in my subconscious is about as appealing as a stranger going into my bedroom and rummaging around in my underwear drawer. Sure, I know exactly what's on the top, and have an idea of what's floating around there in the back, but that's my business.

I'm also big on maintaining my personal space. And when a person I'm not close with gets into my bubble, I stiffen up. I'm afraid that being hypnotized is like having someone invade my brain's personal space.

Still, this fear doesn't stop me from winding up in the office of hypnotherapist and registered nurse Myrna Moxham.

?* * * *

1

I'm sitting in a reclining chair with a blanket over my legs, the lights off and the sound of the ocean coming from a set of speakers on my left.

I explain all my apprehension and my feelings about personal space to Myrna, and she tells me it isn't a problem.

She says that people are hypnotized every day without realizing it -- when they're driving on autopilot, watching television and not hearing someone talk to them, or just spacing out.

It's really just relaxing, and there's nothing I will do or say while I'm hypnotized that I won't do normally. In fact, if in the middle of everything I want to leap out of the chair and leave, I can.

All we are going to do is relax, and while I totally relax, she will help me accomplish my goal of being completely organized.

I should mention that one of the first parts of hypnotism is coming up with a goal to accomplish. Mine is organization. I'm an organized person -- bills get paid on time, appointments are kept, pots and pans get put back where they belong. However, when it comes to putting clothes away or staying on top of the giant pile of "to be filed" papers on my desk, I have some issues.

2

This is where Myrna comes in.

3

I settle back into the chair and Myrna explains that all I have to to is try to relax and focus on the sound of her voice. Then she puts on some non-descript yet soothing music, and asks me where I'd like to imagine myself relaxing. The beach. No question. She jots it down. Then she asks me to start visualizing that place.

I imagine a beach somewhere warm, with crystal clear blue water. Ocean sounds begin to play in the room and Myrna keeps telling me to relax. Relax. Relax.

No problem. It's hard not to relax when you're sitting in a recliner with a blanket over your lap pretending to be in the tropics, instead of being at your desk at work staring at a computer screen.

I'm hearing every word Myrna is saying, though most of the time her words are punctuated with comments in my own brain. It seems that no matter how relaxed I try to be, I can't turn off the portion of my brain that's responsible for making sarcastic comments.

She asks me to visualize and focus on one thing, and my inner monologue just keeps yammering on.

She tells me my lungs are expanding completely with each deep breath I take and the relaxation is coursing through my veins. My inner monologue starts going over the structure of the cell and suddenly I'm back in biology class.

4

Myrna tells me that my stress is now rolling off my back like water off the back of the duck. I think about the structure of the feathers on a duck that allow water to run off of it.

My inner monologue is kind of nerdy.

Next I hear her talking about how nice it would be to be organized. How I will feel an overwhelming urge to put away my clothes and file my papers, and how I will enjoy doing it. My inner monologue agrees this would be nice.

Then she says she's going to count down from 10 to one, and when I wake up I'll be awake and refreshed.

5

After the whole process, I feel rejuvenated, like I had just taken a power nap. Which I almost had. The whole experience felt like one of those naps where you're almost asleep and can still hear everything going on around you.

As for whether I really do start to put my clothes away instead of leaving them in the dryer for two days? Or if I will file my papers right away? We'll see.

?* * * *

Well, I did clean my entire house this weekend, but that was part of a plan that was in motion before the hypnosis. I did two loads of laundry yesterday, and the first one is put away. As for the second one . . . well, even hypnosis couldn't stop me from prioritizing "The Amazing Race" over laundry.

Rob's footnotes

1. I've been working with Kelly for two years now. Almost every day after lunch, she says she could go for a nap. Today, she's finally going to get that nap. Well, sort of.

2. This place has much more of an office feel than that of Beth's, with framed degrees and certificates on the wall and a big desk with paperwork. I wonder if Kelly will be able to relax.

3. Kelly's eyebrow starts to crinkle a little bit. It seems like she's focusing, but I'm not sure she's relaxing yet, as her breathing is still as heavy as when she first closed her eyes.

4. Kelly seems to be more relaxed now. Every time Myrna asks her a question, Kelly answers "yes" by moving her index finger. The finger seems like it's getting heavier and heavier each time Kelly lifts it in response.

5. Though she definitely relaxed, the hypnosis obviously didn't have the same effect on Kelly as it did on me. I'm guessing it had something to do with her inner monologue constantly butting in.

A STORY OF SUCCESS

While Kelly and Rob are still wondering how the hypnosis will affect them, Rob sat down with a real-life hypnosis success story. Katrina MacLeod of Chadds Ford, Pa. used a 5th Path hypnosis series with Beth Keil to overcome some hurdles in her life.

Yo u say you underwent 5th Path hypnosis therapy back in October. What exactly is that?

It' s a five-visit process where I went back and pinpointed certain times in my life when I've had relationships with people that have hurt me. There are emotional triggers there that kept me from accomplishing certain things.

And how did the therapy help you overcome those emotional triggers?

Th rough therapy, I was able to forgive people in my life that really hurt me. I came through a divorce this summer, so that made me really want to get myself out of my own way and move forward without baggage.

How does the five-step process work?

It began with an age regression, with me going back to the first time in my life I felt unloved. From there, the next three sessions dealt with the people that have hurt me. The fifth session came back to me, where I really got to let myself off the hook.

How do you mean?

We ll, I really got to wipe my own slate clean. There's this little negative voice inside us that holds us back. The fifth session gave me a chance to silence that voice so I could move on with my life in a positive way.

Have you moved on?

Ye ah, because those people can't push my buttons anymore. And I've cleaned all the clutter out of my home. Just like my mind has been cleared of the mess, my home has also been cleared, giving myself and my children the gift of an organzied home that's a pleasure to live in.

CONTACT

BETH KEIL

Master Hypnotist

Delaware Hypnosis Partners, LLC

507 S. Maryland Avenue,

Wilmington, Suite 4, 999-1400

www.delawarehypnosis.com

Rates: One-time self-hypnosis class is $110; five-time Hypno-Birthing class is $275.

Background: Bachelor of Science in Individual and Family Studies, Penn State University; Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Delaware; Certified Master Hypnotist, Banyan Hypnosis Center.

MYRNA MOXHAM

Certified hypnotherapist

Mind Matters

835 Pulaski Highway, Bear,

547-4708

Rates: Before 4 p.m., one-hour sessions go for $110; after 5 p.m., one-hour sessions go for $125.

Background: Registered Nurse; Certified Hypnotist, National Guild