The development of episodic memory, its relation to theory of mind (ToM), executive functions (e.g., cognitive inhibition), and to suggestibility was studied. Children (n= 115) between 3 and 6 years of age saw two versions of a video film and were tested for their memory of critical elements of the videos. Results indicated similar developmental trends for all memory measures, ToM, and inhibition, but ToM and inhibition were not associated with any memory measures. Correlations involving source memory was found in relation to specific questions, whereas inhibition and ToM were significantly correlated to resistance to suggestions. A regression analysis showed that age was the main contributor to resistance to suggestions, to correct source monitoring, and to correct responses to specific questions. Inhibition was also a significant main predictor of resistance to suggestive questions, whereas the relative contribution of ToM was wiped out when an extended model was tested.

Melinder A, Endestad T, Magnussen S. University of Oslo, Norway. a.m.d.melinder@psykologi.uio.no

Currently in Puerto Rico, there are no reliable and valid instruments to assess hypnotic responsiveness. The most widely utilized scales have not been scientifically translated and adapted with Puerto Ricans. In the present study, the Barber Suggestibility Scale (BSS) was translated and adapted using back-translation and decentralization. The translated BSS (the ESB) was individually administered to Puerto Rican college students (N = 85). No significant differences were found among the mean scores for the current sample on the ESB and the 1965 sample on the BSS. Both samples had similar score distributions. The internal consistency of the ESB was adequate, and there were significant correlations among scale items and total scores. The authors conclude that the ESB is an adequate instrument to measure hypnotic response within the Puerto Rican population.

Guzman-Hosta L, Martinez-Taboas A, Rodriguez-Gomez J. Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. lara_guzmanhosta@mac.com

I believe the paper by Kirsch, Mazzoni and Montgomery (this issue) should surprise about 95% of ASCH members (maybe only 93% of SCEH members) because the three facts espoused in their paper speciously seem to be 100% true. To paraphrase from their abstract: 1) nothing that can be produced by hypnotic induction plus suggestion cannot also be produced by suggestion alone; 2) administration of a hypnotic induction does not produce a meaningful increase in response to suggestion relative to suggestion alone; and 3) responsivity to suggestions are highly correlated to responsivity on the same measure when preceded by a hypnotic induction ceremony. In order to persuade that these propositions are true, several objections to them must be addressed. However, just because one's facts are true does not mean that one's interpretation of the facts and their interrelationships are also true. The ramifications of the above facts and their interrelationships for the future of professional hypnosis (experimental, clinical and forensic) are identified and discussed.

Frischholz EJ. Rush North Shore Medical Center. amjch@sbcglobal.net

Suggestion, both within and outside of hypnosis, can influence many psychological processes, including cognition and emotion. Moreover, suggestion may account for many individual differences and promote the investigation of such mainstream fields as attention and memory. To be sure, exploring the power of suggestion will likely pave the road to a more scientific understanding of such psychological phenomena as motivation, expectation, and the placebo effect.

Raz A. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Willow Chest Centre, 100-2647 Willow St., Vancouver, BC. Amir.Raz@vch.ca

Psychotherapy with adjunctive hypnosis is known to be an effective approach for the treatment of viral warts. There is an increasing clinical and scientific literature that illustrates the successful use of psychotherapeutic treatment with and without hypnosis in the reduction or elimination of viral warts (Bloch, 1927; Chandrasena, 1982; Clawson & Swade, 1975; Dreaper, 1978; Ewin, 1992; Ewin, 1995; and Goldstein, 2005; Obermayer & Greenson, 1949; McDowell, 1949; Reid, 1989; Scott, 1960; Spanos, Stenstrom & Johnston, 1988; Spanos, Williams & Gwynn, 1990; Surman et al., 1973; Morris, 1985; Noll, 1994; Noll, 1988; O'Laughlan, 1995; Tasini & Hackett, 1977; Vollmer, 1946; Yalom, 1964). In this case study the veracious area experienced a 100% reduction in five treatment sessions spanning a total of seven weeks. In this case, psychotherapy with hypnotic treatment relied upon an emphasis on two interventions: reduction of wart area with guided imagery and suggestions for the optimization of the client's immune system functioning. Photos illustrate the client's pre-treatment, mid-treatment, and post-treatment state. Causal factors in the client's recovery cannot be easily isolated but the startling results attest to the efficacy of the overall interventions and treatment context compared to prior medical interventions.

Phoenix SL. steve@lankton.com

by Laurie Nadel, Ph.D.

Do you find yourself losing concentration during certain times of the day? Perhaps it comes as a sudden touch of fatigue, or a subtle mental fuzziness. All of a sudden, you feel droopy. Your eyes may tear. You can't stop yawning, your you sigh. Maybe you find yourself staring out the window, your mind faraway from the tasks at hand. If somebody speaks to you, you find yourself startled by the sound of his voice. Or you don't understand what was said the first time and ask the speaker to repeat himself.

These are signs that your body is entering an ultradian rest response. If you observe yourself carefully during the day, you will find that this pattern recurs approximately every hour and a half. Noticing this pattern can help you tap into your intuition during the times when your physiology is naturally attuned to it. During those periods when you lose concentration or get tired, the four main regulatory systems that link mind and body realign.

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Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (NES) have the outward appearance of epilepsy in the absence of physiological or electroencephalographic correlates. Non-epileptic seizures can occur in isolation or in combination with epileptic seizures. The development and maintenance of non-epileptic seizures has been well documented and there is a growing literature on the treatment of NES which includes non-psychological (including anti-anxiety and antidepressant pharmacological treatment) and psychological therapies (including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy and paradoxical therapy). Various treatment methodologies have been tried with variable success. The purpose of this Cochrane review was to establish the evidence base for the treatment of NES. To assess whether treatments for NES result in a reduction in frequency of seizures and/or improvement in quality of life, and whether any treatment is significantly more effective than others. We searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group's Specialised Register (September 2005), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to July 2005), and PsycINFO (1806 to July 2005). No language restrictions were imposed. We checked the reference lists of retrieved studies for additional reports of relevant studies Randomised or quasi-randomised studies were included that assessed one or more types of psychological or non-psychological interventions for the treatment of NES. Studies of childhood NES were excluded from our review. Three review authors independently assessed the trials for inclusion and extracted data. Outcomes included reduction in seizure frequency and improvements in quality of life. Three small studies met our inclusion criteria and were of poor methodological quality. Two assessed hypnosis and the other paradoxical therapy. There were no detailed reports of improved seizure frequency or quality of life outcomes, and these trials provide no reliable evidence of a beneficial effect of these interventions. In view of the methodological limitations and the small number of studies, we have no reliable evidence to support the use of any treatment including hypnosis or paradoxical injunction therapy in the treatment of NES. Randomised studies of these and other interventions are needed.

Baker G, Brooks J, Goodfellow L, Bodde N, Aldenkamp A.

Four- to 7-year-olds' ability to answer repeated questions about body touch either honestly or dishonestly was examined. Children experienced a play event, during which one third of the children were touched innocuously. Two weeks later, they returned for a memory interview. Some children who had not been touched were instructed to lie during the interview and say that they had been touched. Children so instructed were consistent in maintaining the lie but performed poorly when answering repeated questions unrelated to the lie. Children who were not touched and told the truth were accurate when answering repeated questions. Of note, children who had been touched and told the truth were the most inconsistent. Results call into question the common assumption that consistency is a useful indicator of veracity in children's eyewitness accounts.

Quas JA, Davis EL, Goodman GS, Myers JE. University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, USA. jquas@uci.edu

Use of complementary medicine is common, consumer driven and usually outpatient focused. We wished to determine interest among the medical staff at a North Carolina academic medical center in integrating diverse therapies and services into comprehensive care. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional on-line survey of physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants at a tertiary care medical center in 2006. The survey contained questions on referrals and recommendations in the past year and interest in therapies or services if they were to be provided at the medical center in the future. RESULTS: Responses were received from 173 clinicians in 26 different departments, programs and centers. There was strong interest in offering several specific therapies: therapeutic exercise (77%), expert consultation about herbs and dietary supplements (69%), and massage (66%); there was even stronger interest in offering comprehensive treatment programs such as multidisciplinary pain management (84%), comprehensive nutritional assessment and advice (84%), obesity/healthy lifestyle promotion (80%), fit for life (exercise and lifestyle program, 76%), diabetes healthy lifestyle promotion (73%); and comprehensive psychological services for stress management, including hypnosis and biofeedback (73%). There is strong interest among medical staff at an academic health center in comprehensive, integrated services for pain, obesity, and diabetes and in specific services in fitness, nutrition and stress management. Future studies will need to assess the cost-effectiveness of such services, as well as their financial sustainability and impact on patient satisfaction, health and quality of life.

Kemper KJ, Dirkse D, Eadie D, Pennington M. Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. kkemper@wfubmc.edu

Green, J. P. (2004). The five factor model of personality and hypnotizability: Little variance in common. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21(4), 161-168. In 285 undergraduates, this study compared the NEO-PI-R and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS). Gender and personality test scores were accounted for by approximately 8% (6% adjusted) of the variance in hypnotizability scores. The scores on individual facets on the NEO-PI-R accounted for about 21% (12% adjusted) of the variance on the HGSHS:A. These results are consistent with previous studies that attempted to correlate hypnotizability with a measure of the five factor model of personality.

Address for reprints: Joseph P. Green, Ph.D., Psychology Department, Ohio State University, Lima, OH 45804, USA. E-mail: green.301@osu.edu

Hammond, D. C. (2005). EEG patterns and hypnotizability. Biofeedback, 33(1), 35-37. Provides a brief review of the relationship of hypnotizability and EEG activity, followed by a discussion of how modifying EEG activity with neurofeedback may have potential to increase hypnotic responsiveness, for example, in working with pain patients. This is followed by a brief summary of the relationship of hypnotizability to clinical symptoms.

Address for reprints: D. Corydon Hammond, Ph.D., University of Utah School of Medicine, PM&R, 30 No. 1900 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84132-2119. E-mail: D. C. Hammond®m.cc.utah.edu

When a hypnotist appears on screen, expect evil. If his induction features 'magnetic' hand passes, he's probably about to compel someone to commit a crime. Ifhe hypnotizes with an intense stare, his intent is likelier seduction-in fact many screen inductions are identical to the eye contact ethologists have labeled "the copulatory gaze." This paper explores to role of hypnosis in more than 230 films in which it has been depicted and categorizes the--mostly negative--stereotypes about it. A handful of exceptions in which hypnosis is positive and/or realistic are examined. The discussion compares this to the role of psychotherapy and dreams in cinema. It discusses why hypnosis is so maligned and whether there is anything practitioners can do to alter the stereotype.

Harvard Medical School, USA. Deirdre_Barrett@hms.Harvard.edu

Gruzelier, J., De Pascalis, V., Jamieson, G., Laidlaw, T., Naito, A., Bennett, B., & Dwivdei, P. (2004). Relations between hypnotizability and psychopathology revisited. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21(4), 169-175. The authors were inspired to examine relations between schizotypy and hypnotizability by seeing a first episode of schizophrenia that occurred within a week of being a participant in stage hypnosis. They found positive associations with 15 items consisting of positive aspects of schizotypy with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. This study re-examined this finding in two further samples. The more cognitively loaded Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C, was administered to female Italian psychology students in the first study. Then the HGSHS was given to British medical students in a stress reduction study. In the first replication study, 12 correlations were found, all with positive features of schizotypy, none associated with unreality experiences, and 6 items related to psychic experiences. In the second replication study, of 13 positive associations, 7 were negative items associated to the withdrawal syndrome, and 6 items were associated with social anxiety (a nonspecific feature of schizotypy). Across the series of studies, all but one item was interpreted by the authors as being consistent with associations between hypnotizability and positive schizotypy and social anxiety. The actual items that correlated are provided in appendices. Although the items varied from study to study, and that there were sampling and scale differences, the outcome merits larger studies to investigate further the relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and psychopathology.

Address for reprints: John Gruzelier, Ph.D., Division of Neuroscience & Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Campus, St. Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom. E-mail: j.gruzelier@imperial.ac.uk

The following brief report describes the experiences of a hand and arm amputee following the administration of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHSiA) of Shor and Orne, 1962. The participant passed two of the three motor items involving his missing limb. This report discusses the results of a postsession interview regarding our participant's experiences during hypnosis and briefly discusses phantom limb sensations in general.

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Procedures for estimating hypnotic depth have been used for more than 70 years. This study predicted self-reported hypnotic depth from the phenomenological and behavioral variables of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory-Hypnotic Assessment Procedure (PCI-HAP). Participants were divided into 2 groups; 1 was used to generate regression equations, and the other group was used for cross-validation. Both imagery vividness during hypnosis (imagoic suggestibility) and the PCI pHGS measure of hypnotic depth (hypnoidal state) accounted for most of the variance in self-reported hypnotic depth. The above results, further supported by correlational and 3-D visual analyses, are consistent with other researchers' observations that ratings of hypnotic depth are a function of: (a) alterations in subjective experience, and (b) the perception of responsiveness to suggestions. The findings are also congruent with J. Holroyd's hypothesis that suggestibility and altered-state effects interact to produce hypnotic effects.

Pekala RJ, Kumar VK, Maurer R, Elliott-Carter NC, Moon E. Coatesville Veterans Administration Medical Center, Coatesville, Pennsylvania, USA. Ronald.Pekala@med.va.gov

Santarcangelo, E. L. & Sebastiani, L. (2004). Hypnotizability as an adaptive trait. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21, 3-13. This paper reviews our studies on the hypnotizability/hypnosis-related modulation of the mind-body connection during relaxation and mental stress, considered as the extremes of the wakefulness cognitiveautonomic arousal.

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Hypnosis has been given many definitions over the years, and many authors have debated whether it even exists. These debates and definitions themselves are evidence of what I consider to be the most basic and profound form of hypnosis. My definition identifies the discursive thinking mind (what most of us identify with as our ordinary sense of self) as an ongoing hypnotic process. From this perspective, the ordinary conscious mind contains all the process elements of what traditionally have been called "trance phenomena." And although the conscious mind approximates reality and makes its constructs seem workable, the mind itself is never accurately in touch with reality. More and more people are now beginning to subscribe to this view, as quantum physics continues to bear out scientific evidence that the nature of reality as described by spiritual masters throughout the ages is not merely metaphor, but actual truth. In fact, this approach to hypnotherapy could as appropriately be called "quantum hypnotherapy" as well as "transpersonal hypnotherapy."

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Cortex functional connectivity associated with hypnosis was investigated in a single highly hypnotizable subject in a normal baseline condition and under neutral hypnosis during two sessions separated by a year. After the hypnotic induction, but without further suggestions as compared to the baseline condition, all studied parameters of local and remote functional connectivity were significantly changed. The significant differences between hypnosis and the baseline condition were observable (to different extent) in five studied independent frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma). The results were consistent and stable after 1 year. Based on these findings we conclude that alteration in functional connectivity of the brain may be regarded as a neuronal correlate of hypnosis (at least in very highly hypnotizable subjects) in which separate cognitive modules and subsystems may be temporarily incapable of communicating with each other normally.

BM-SCIENCE - Brain and Mind Technologies Research Centre, P.O. Box 77, FI-02601, Espoo, Finland

Hypnosis is a potentially valuable cognitive tool for neuroimaging studies. However, understandable concern that Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in particular may adversely affect hypnotic procedures remains. Measurements of hypnotic depth and responsiveness to suggestions were taken using a standardized procedure that met all the requirements for functional MRI (fMRI). Testing outside the scanning environment showed reliable and stable changes in subjective hypnotic depth, with no carryover once the hypnosis had been terminated. Within-subject comparisons showed that the magnitude and pattern of these changes and the degree of responsiveness to hypnotic suggestion were not discernibly affected by the fMRI environment. It is concluded that hypnosis can be employed as a discrete and reliable cognitive tool within fMRI neuroimaging settings.

University College London, UK.

Fractal analysis was applied to study the trends of EEG signals in the hypnotic condition. The subjects were 19 psychiatric outpatients. Hypnotizability was measured with the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP). Fifty-four sets of EEG data were analyzed by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), a well-established fractal analysis technique. The scaling exponents, which are the results of fractal analysis, are reduced toward white noise during the hypnotic condition, which differentiates the hypnotic condition from the waking condition. Further, the decrease in the scaling exponents during hypnosis was solely associated with the eye-roll sign within specific cortical areas (F3, C4, and O1/2) closely related to eye movements and attention. In conclusion, the present study has found that the application of the fractal analysis technique can demonstrate the electrophysiological correlations with hypnotic influence on cerebral activity.

Kwandong University College of Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Gyunggi, Korea.

EEG neurofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation and self-hypnosis

Hypnosis has been shown to be efficacious in a range of clinical conditions, including the management of chronic pain. However, not all individuals are able to enter a hypnotic state, thereby limiting the clinical utility of this technique. We sought to determine whether hypnotic susceptibility could be increased using three methods thought to facilitate relaxation, with particular interest in an EEG neurofeedback protocol which elevated the theta to alpha ratio. This was compared with progressive muscle relaxation and self-hypnosis. Ten subjects with moderate levels of susceptibility (2-7/12) were randomly assigned to each condition and assessed for hypnotic susceptibility prior to and upon completion of 10 sessions of training. Hypnotic susceptibility increased post-training in all groups, providing further evidence that operant control over the theta/alpha ratio is possible, but contrary to our predictions, elevation of the theta/alpha ratio proved no more successful than the other interventions. Nonetheless, all three techniques successfully enhanced hypnotic susceptibility in over half of the participants (17/30), a similar incidence to that reported using other methods. As previously reported, the majority who were not susceptible to modification were at the lower levels of susceptibility, and the greater increases tended to occur in the more susceptible subjects. However, here enhancement was disclosed in some at low levels, and capability was found of reaching high levels, both features not typically reported. Further research is warranted.

Imperial College, London W6 8RP, UK.

Alienation is the feeling that life is 'meaningless', that we do not belong in the world. But alienation is not an inevitable part of the human condition: some people do feel at one with the world as a consequence of the animistic way of thinking which is shared by children and hunter-gatherers. Animism considers all significant entities to have 'minds', to be 'alive', to be sentient agents. The animistic thinker inhabits a world populated by personal powers including not just other human beings, but also important animals and plants, and significant aspects of physical landscape. Humans belong in this world because it is a web of social relationships. Animism is therefore spontaneous, the 'natural' way of thinking for humans: all humans began as animistic children and for most of human evolutionary history would have grown into animistic adults. It requires sustained, prolonged and pervasive formal education to 'overwrite' animistic thinking with the rationalistic objectivity typical of the modern world. It is this learned abstraction that creates alienation - humans are no longer embedded in a world of social relations but become estranged, adrift in a world of indifferent things. Methods used to cure alienation and recover animistic modes of thinking involve detachment from the social systems that tend to maintain objectivity and rationality: for example, solitude, leisure, unstructured time and direct contact with nature. Many people also achieve similar results by deliberately inducing altered states of consciousness. Animistic thinking may emerge in meditation or contemplation, lucid dreaming, from self-hypnosis, when drowsy, in 'trance states' induced by repetitious rhythm or light, or when delirious due to illness, brain injury, psychoses, or intoxication with 'entheogenic' drugs - which is probably one reason for the perennial popularity of inducing intoxicated states. However, intoxication will typically damage memory processes making it harder to learn from any spiritual experiences; and even mild states of cognitive impairment may be dangerous in situations where skilled or responsible behaviour is required. Despite these constraints and limitations, recovering animism through seeking altered states of consciousness could already be considered a major world spiritual practice.

Newcastle University, NE1 7RU, UK.

Postural control in subjects with high (Highs) and low (Lows) susceptibility to hypnosis is differentially affected by changes in visual and neck tactile/proprioceptive input. The aim of the present experiment was to investigate whether imagery of the visual and tactile sensory modalities also induces different modulation of postural control in Highs and Lows. Fourteen Highs and 16 Lows were included in the study; they were recorded while standing upright with eyes closed during visual and tactile imagery tasks and during mental computation. Their posture and movement were recorded with an Elite System and their experience was assessed after each task in a structured interview. Visual imagery was judged "easier" than tactile imagery by Lows, while Highs performed both tasks easily and judged the tactile imagery less effortful and more vivid than Lows. No difference was observed for the mental computation. The Highs' body sway was not affected by the cognitive tasks, while Lows showed a task-related modulation of body sway. The results are in line with the hypothesis of lower vulnerability of Highs to the effects of tasks interfering with postural control and of different sensory-motor integration in Highs and Lows.

Department of Physiology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

by Marilyn Gordon, BCH, CI

What Does Transformation Mean? Transformation is a process of moving from darkness into light. It's a darkness-into-light shift in consciousness that can happen at any moment. Through it you can make dynamic shifts in understanding to move pain, grief, anger, sadness, and trauma into new ways of being. Everything that has happened in life contains the seeds of dynamic transformation. Ultimately, you can move into the true essence of strength, love, healing, and positive redirection. There is emotional and physical healing as well as support for spiritual transformation. It's about first paying attention to the difficulties, experiencing how they feel or sound or what they look like, and then releasing and transforming them by making this connection with a more transcendent state of consciousness. This helps us to view our difficulties differently by shifting our level of awareness. There is truly a temple of healing that exists within. The healing process is a movement from darkness into light, from the unreal to the real, and from the deepest to the highest states of consciousness.

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It is commonly believed that direct suggestibility, referring to overt influence, and indirect suggestibility, in which the intention to influence is hidden, correlate poorly. This study demonstrates that they are substantially related, provided that they tap similar areas of influence. Test results from 103 students, 55 women and 48 men, were entered into regression analyses. Indirect suggestibility, as measured by the Sensory Suggestibility Scale for Groups, and compliance, measured by the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale, were predictors of direct suggestibility, assessed with the Barber Suggestibility Scale. Spectral analyses showed that indirect suggestibility is more related to difficult tasks on the BSS, but compliance is more related to easy tasks on this scale.

Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. polczyk@apple.phils.uj.edu.pl

During hypnosis it is easy to induce hallucinations having, for the hypnotized subject, the characteristics and the concreteness of reality. This study was performed to put in evidence the physical effects of hypnotic suggestion of warm tub bathing. 18 volunteers screened for high hypnotizability were studied. They underwent suggestion of forearm in warm water (30 min), suggestion of body in warm water (30 min), and hypnosis without any thermal suggestion (30 min), while blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, forearm flow and resistance, stroke volume, cardiac index and total peripheral resistance were monitored. During suggestion of forearm in warm water, local vasodilation was recorded, with decrease of forearm resistance (-18%, P<0.01) and increase of forearm blood flow (+43%, P<0.01) like in real local passive warming. During suggestion of whole-body in a warm water tub, there was a systemic vasodilation with decrease of total peripheral resistance (-29%, P<0.01) and increase of cardiac index (+54%, P<0.01), like in real total-body passive warming. Body temperature, arterial blood pressure and heart rate were unchanged. During simple hypnosis (sham procedure) no haemodynamic variations were observed. These results are in keeping with the possibility to induce through hypnotic suggestion of heat a physical pattern that is typical of hyperthermia, even without increase in body temperature.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani No. 2, Padova, Italy. edoardo.casiglia@unipd.

In this "Reply" paper, the arguments and experimental findings by Pockett, Pollen, and Haggard et al. are analyzed. It had been shown () that a 0.5s duration of repetitive activations of sensory cortex is required to produce a threshold of sensation. The view that this is due to a facilitatory buildup in excitatory state to finally elicit neuronal firing is shown to be incompatible with several lines of evidence. Objections to the phenomenon of subjective referral backwards in time (for the delayed sensation) are also untenable. report that a self-initiated act can, under hypnotic suggestion, appear to the subject to be "involuntary." The act under hypnosis is better viewed as one initiated unconsciously, not as an act of conscious will.

Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA.

Little Progress Seen Since 1999 IOM Report on Medical Errors

Patient Safety Incidents In Hospitals Account for $6 Billion per Year in Extra Costs

Lakewood, Colo. (July 27, 2004) – An average of 195,000 people in the U.S. died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a new study of 37 million patient records that was released today by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company.

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by Anne Spencer Ph.D.

The term metaphysics as used by philosophers is generally defined as the branch of philosophy that is concerned with investigating the reality that lies beyond the physical realm. The study of metaphysics is involved with asking the fundamental questions: "What is the nature of being?" "What is the nature of the universe" "What is the nature of knowledge"? This information may help us to understand that any philosophy or religion that engages in the study of a reality beyond the physical senses has its own metaphysics. For example, in a traditional theological seminary one may study the metaphysics of Aristotle. At a college or university one may learn about the metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead. In a course of religions in America one may become familiar with the metaphysics of the Mormon faith. In all three of these examples the study of metaphysics is involved. Yet, each one understands the nature of reality in a unique and different way. It becomes clear then that all metaphysical perspectives are not necessarily the same.

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by Don L. Price

Unquestionably when the word hypnosis pops-up in a conversation or in the mainstream press, nostrils flair, minds conjure up strong reactions of parlor tricks and pictures of late night scary movies where starry-eyed maidens are seduced to carry out satanic acts.

Here we are, in modern times, where we have set foot on the moon, (ops – better watch my words – there are people who still think the earth is flat) broke the sound barrier, communicate wireless with the most modern technology and still people see hypnosis has a hoax. Even the well educated are not off the hook from such lack of knowledge and ignorant responses.

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by A.L. Ward

I became a hypnotherapist more than fifty-years ago. At that time you could count the known hypnotists on your ten fingers. Today there are thousands involved in its practice. I doubt that there are very many hypnotists still living that can claim fifty-years in this business. Even among the professionals there are many different opinions about reincarnation, good and evil spirits, religion, the nature of God, and the approach to the process of hypnotherapy.

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by Michael Ellner

I want to introduce you to a self-help technology called QUANTUM FOCUSING®. QUANTUM FOCUSING is a special blend of meditation, self-hypnosis and focused attention training, that I developed working with Richard Jamison, PhD, a psycho-biologist and Alan Barsky, CHt., a medical hypnotist.

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by Bryan Knight MSW, PhD

"Should the practice of hypnotherapy be restricted to doctors?"

Definitely not.

Physicians cannot even agree among themselves about hypnotherapy.

There has been an ongoing feud within medical circles since the beginnings with [Dr] Mesmer.

In the early years of the 19th century surgeons were jeered at, even struck off their registers, for daring to reveal they had operated hundreds of times on patients with only hypnosis as an anesthetic.

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The Mind Body Connection - Why Hypnosis is the Ideal Intervention

by Anne Spencer Ph.D.

Lilly Tomlin once said, "When I speak to God, they call it prayer. When God speaks to me, they call it schizophrenia!"

Three decades ago when I told clients that we could talk to their immune cells and make a change for the better, their doctors thought I was schizophrenic. Times have changed. Now mainstream America is fully aware that traditional medicine is not the only answer. Allopathic medicine is one of perhaps several solutions to a current medical challenge.

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CEO's use it, pro athletes use it and so do the most successful people in all areas of life. It is without doubt the most beneficial, powerful and result oriented tool available to all of us, yet most people never even know it. Better yet, it costs nothing, is easy to do and can be utilized immediately.

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by Don L. Price

Success arguably is a process of small steps. Yes. There are those who have experienced some whimsical flash of luck by hitting the lottery or inheriting large sums of money – but rarely could you call them successful.

Clearly, many people experience different forms of success. Winning in a competitive sport and when you are up against others you definitely demonstrate success through your outcome.

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This is an interesting study investigating the effects of being prayed for or visualized for by someone else, as opposed to doing those things for oneself. The U. Mass team of Matthews, Conti and Sireci looked at the effects of intercessory prayer on 95 critically ill, end stage renal disease patients on dialysis. In the controlled, randomized study, clinical outcomes of prayed-for people were compared with those of visualized-for people.

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To study the phenomenology of hypnotic virtuosos, the author employed a 2 (hypnosis vs. control) x 3 (quiescent, pedaling a stationary bike, having a motor pedal the bike) within-subjects design with quantitative and qualitative measures.

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The extent to which hypnotic suggestions are perceived as real is central to understanding hypnotic response. This study indexed the reality attributed to hypnotic suggestion through subtle projection of a visual image during simultaneous suggestion for a visual hallucination that resembled the projected image.

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The team of Cunningham, Phillips, Lockwood, Hedley and Edmonds, from the Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital, report in a recent issue of Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, that when patients dedicatedly employ a variety of psychological self-regulating strategies, (relaxation, guided imagery, cognitive restructuring and meditation), there is a life-prolonging effect.

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