Stories to Remember

The art of hypnotic story-telling is flourishing, thanks to masterful communicators such as licensed counselor and certified hypnotherapist, John Burton. In his audio CD, Stories to Remember, he tells stories that are not only memorable, but are intended to help listeners remember their spiritual selves; something Burton calls "God-energy awareness" – one's connection to the "infinite eternal love energy."

In this collection of eleven stories, Burton begins with the premise that spiritual awareness is our birthright, but we lose that awareness because of trauma. As a result, we misperceive the world, others, and ourselves. We then overdo some things and/or deprive ourselves of other things. The purpose of the stories is to replace what trauma has stolen; to "gently awaken you to the one truth of being love."

Some of the metaphors hold obvious messages, while some hold disguised messages, and some inspire contemplation. Burton's voice is gentle, accompanied by nature sounds and soft, soothing Native American flute music by Marina Raye, known internationally as the "Feminine Voice of the Native Flute."

Burton's skill with hypnotic language is evident: hardly surprising in that he has authored the two leading books on hypnotic language (Understanding Advanced Hypnotic Language Patterns, Crown House Publishing, 2006; and Hypnotic Language, with Bob Bodenhamer, Crown House Publishing, 2000). I listened to the CD three times before writing this review. I know I went into trance because each time I heard the stories, I heard something new that I had not recalled from my previous listening. During the third listening, my eyes closed involuntarily and I could not remember hearing the last 15 minutes or so of the CD. When I opened my eyes at the end of the CD, I felt that my awareness had been transported to a sweet elsewhere.

Stories to Remember will take you into the genius mind of John Burton where story-telling holds trance-inducing properties and imparts life-changing possibilities. As Milton Erickson did, Burton conveys his stories through a multi-layered communication. On the surface, they are tales about rather mundane activities: a walk in the woods, admiring trees and turtles, noticing the wind, riding a bicycle, or building a campfire. In a thematic sense, the stories are about openness, trust, sharing, choice, balance, maturation, meaning, and gratitude. Burton also makes meta-comments throughout these stories to convey the idea of energy – that we are energy and the world around us is energy in constant motion and expression. The energy of life is the encompassing spirit of love that sees every being as love-worthy. This is what John Burton wants his listeners to remember.

Stories to Remember can be purchased from Dr. Burton's website at DrJohnBurton.

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Executive Director of the National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists. She is an NLP Master Practitioner/Trainer. She maintains Motivational Strategies, her counseling practice in Springfield Virginia: Her latest book is Why Do I Keep Doing This?!! Her web site is HabitMaven.com.