1. Book: 📖 “Monsters & Magical Sticks: There's No Such Thing as Hypnosis?” from Steven Heller

To the book:

Great book! If you're advanced in NLP or just starting out as a hypnotherapist, I would say there is no better book. The book has a therapeutic focus and explains the interconnectedness of the inner and outer worlds. It is excellent in its application of anchors and their disruption. The title of the book is based on one chapter where the author recounts how he resolved his three-year-old son's nightmares.

Content:

• Lightly into Hypnosis: There is no such thing as hypnosis. Hypnosis as communication, the Flat World.

• Meta 4 - Change - Life: Metaphor within metaphor and other metaphors...

• Everyday Hypnosis/Learning: Different perspectives on hypnosis.

• Forget about it: Amnesia, fear of heights.

• Systems of Belief: Hallucinations +/-, what beliefs are and how to utilize them in work.

• Two Systems: How to recognize submodalities systems?

• GIGO: 'Garbage in/Garbage out.'

• Systems - So what?: How to work with systems.

• Patterns: Different types of patterns and how to utilize them.

• Left meets Right and Right meets Left: We have two hemispheres.

• Reality... Really???: What is reality?

• Unconscious versus Conscious: And also what the subconscious is...

• Utilization: Magical words, induction, etc.

• Anchoring: How to work with anchors.

• Disrupting anchors: Explanation and practical examples.

• Confessions of a Hypnotist: More or less a summary.

• Ramblings: In short, what was it about."

Interesting insights

Certainly, the most intriguing aspect is the description of the systems we work with, how to identify them, and how to utilize them. It perfectly clarifies certain situations - for example, when a client tells you they can't imagine something and how to work with that. And the absolute highlight is working with anchors, their disruption, and their application in hypnotherapy.

What makes the book good

The book will push you forward. If you are familiar with certain techniques, they will surely come together for you here. The book is well-written, engaging, and practically oriented towards hypnotic therapeutic methods. It demonstrates how you can achieve a lot with very little. The book is not focused on stage hypnosis, and a mere hint of it would do it a disservice. It is a book that you will return to even if you know it by heart.

What the book lacks?

There aren't many pictures in the book, occasionally a diagram or two.

2. Book: 📖 “Harness the power of self-hypnosis and autosuggestion. You can achieve anything you desire” from Jan Becker

To the book:

The book that should not be missing from the library of almost every reader. It is written for complete beginners, and those who have some knowledge of technology will immediately recognize what a gem the book is. I have become fond of the techniques in the book, and they have become valuable material in my work and daily life. The techniques can be applied anywhere. Once you learn the techniques, you can continue working with them and customize them to your liking. The techniques can be easily incorporated into coaching sessions. Unfortunately, for coaches without a deeper understanding of the underlying principles, you may lose face in front of the client.

Content:

• Self-hypnosis - what is it really? A fairy tale about multitasking, daytime trance, and why you are the creators of your reality.

• The miracle of an ordinary day: How warm thoughts truly warm you up, how to hypnotize yourself within seconds, and what you have gained today.

• Do you forget? Can you forget? Why do we remember much more than we think, but never what actually happened - and why it is so.

• How your subconscious decides whether you will feel like a fearless superhero or a frightened mouse. And why it's worth taking control over it.

• Why myths persist in the collective consciousness and how suggestion slips into the subconscious around the "consciousness" acting as a gatekeeper.

• The art of switching off and letting yourself be engulfed: How to press the stop button on the merry-go-round of thoughts using your eyes, voice, and cheerful exercise and invite happiness into your life.

• The fascinating world of suggestions: From a stowaway in your subconscious to a benevolent fairy fulfilling your wishes.

• The matter of motivation: How emotions give wings to our subconscious and why the journey is not the destination.

• The power of words: How to incorporate encouraging suggestions into your life, become the director of your own movie, and not give up on your goals when you already have them in sight.

• Advanced self-hypnosis: How to deepen relaxation hypnotically, preserve suggestions, and permanently anchor pleasant feelings.

• Energy replenishment through the Viking factor: How to learn self-confidence to achieve what you want.

• Create a beautiful life for yourself: How to put your minor bad habits to rest and replace them with healthy, dynamic habits.

• No stress, please: How to outsmart adrenaline and automatically transform tension into relaxation.

• No fear of fear: How to reduce the boulder blocking your path and make your fear tremble in a tango.

• I believe I will heal: How to awaken the self-healing powers and why the subconscious is often the best doctor.

• It's all about fun: How to learn more effectively in the right wave, use a highlighter directly in your mind, and turn an exam into your performance.

• No more procrastination: How to pre-induce a euphoric feeling of success, not get distracted, and always do things with pleasure.

• Self-hypnosis in sports: Higher, faster, farther - how to achieve things you have always considered impossible.

• For a better and more passionate relationship: How to revive your relationship using hypnotic tricks and fan the flames of new passion with an invisible feather.

• The myth of uninterrupted sleep, the secret of evening yogurt, or how to simply sleep better.

Interesting insights

The book contains a wealth of techniques that are immediately available. Even if you don't follow some of the techniques exactly as instructed, you will still achieve results. However, I do not recommend using the techniques everywhere and without the client's consent – yes, the book is about self-hypnosis, but the trick is that it doesn't matter who the client is. Some techniques, like the window of possibilities, should be approached with a sense of humor and it's better to choose carefully the utensil on which you demonstrate something. Bending utensils belongs more to the realm of magic than demonstrating hypnosis.

What makes the book good

The book contains dozens of exercises, is practical, and can be easily mastered by a complete novice. However, its strength is also its problem. Any charlatan or manipulator can easily exploit it and offer things like the "third eye" or quantum touches, etc. nonsensical concepts. If such ideas are presented by an authority figure adorned with titles like MD., etc. (even if they don't actually possess them, and worse if they intentionally claim to have them), it can make a layperson feel like a superhero and create a client who is willing to pay indefinitely. Unfortunately, you will also encounter such individuals in your surroundings.

What the book lacks?

This book doesn't have many shortcomings. It is well-written, I would say, for the right readers. Some techniques may be found under a different name and slightly different description. If you already know them, don't worry about the translation or procedure, just follow where the author wants to take you and feel free to apply your own methods.

3. Book: 📖 “Reality is Plastic. The Art of Impromptu Hypnosis” from Anthony Jacquin

To the book

The author of the book focuses on readers who want to become hypnotists. At the same time, he explains that the book does not replace practical training with a coach. If you have already completed an sufficient number of hours with a trainer, the book is an excellent complement of information and a source of basic techniques that you can apply in various areas. Personally, I use the techniques in coaching and team work as well as in client sessions. However, the possibilities are endless - entertainment, therapy, perceptual changes, and so on. As long as you adhere to basic ethical principles and practices, these are safe techniques. If you are interested, it is possible to learn some of the techniques in hypnosis courses or during designated sessions.

Content:

• What is Improvised Hypnosis? Although the author claims that this is not a book about stage hypnosis, the majority of techniques are described within its pages.

• Hypnosis or no introduction needed. Here, the focus is mainly on the history of hypnosis. (How to become a hypnotist; How to proceed; What settings to use; What are the characteristic features of hypnosis; Hypnotic phenomena (Catalepsy, Amnesia...)

• Settings (describing basic techniques that can be used in various variations) (Magnetic Fingers; Magnetic Hands; Stiff Arm)

• Inductions (Induction practice; Hand and Eye Fixation; Magnetic Palms (an expanded technique from the previous chapter); Handshake or Hand Jerk; Jacquin's "Power Lift" technique (a very effective technique combining confusion and interrupting established patterns); Jacquin's Performance Induction (an advanced technique that requires a high level of confidence from the hypnotist); Instant Induction)

• Deepeners - Intensification (Connections, associations; Loops, feedback; Chaining; "Bombs" - sometimes a single word or phrase is enough to deepen the state)

• Guidance (focused on clear and effective communication that leads to results) (Super Suggestions (offer a beautiful suggestion for the subject to follow); Encouragement (a hint is enough to let the client know they are doing well); Procedural instructions; Control and progression (have a plan prepared based on the environment))

• Application of improvised hypnosis (replacing long scripts with a few detailed ones) (Brief notes on therapy; Brief notes on Rossi-style therapy; It's gone (disappearance); Thief in the supermarket; Disguised; Full; Jumping into a scene with Denzel Washington; Truth and lie; Instant self-hypnosis)

• Safety first (References and other surprises; Morality and ethics; Final thoughts)

• Appendix: Suggestions for hypnotic scripts

Interesting insights

• Some dissociation techniques, I consider them to be very practical.

• I find the examples of "elevator speech" and advice on how to create them to be instructive.

• A highly effective technique for eliciting the truth, which surprised me with its efficiency.

What makes the book good

• It is an excellent description of techniques and procedures. The book includes a variety of photographs that help clarify the techniques.

• In my opinion, the book is oriented towards stage hypnosis and techniques. Suggestions like the client seeing only their body without a head, etc., are nice stage tricks.

What the book lacks?

• Although the author refers to ethics in hypnosis and provides guidance, I would argue that the majority of techniques give the opposite impression.

• The book does not address therapeutic areas, it does not work with metaphor at all, and only marginally touches upon the Ericksonian approach.