While the morning session covers many topics such as the history of hypnosis, I believe the most important information you receive will be an understanding of the 4 basic prime directives of the unconscious mind. The prime directives are common among all people. By understanding these, you will better be able to understand why you do what you do in life. As I say in my seminars, "Understanding is not enough. Application is critical in order to transform." If you're serious about creating permanent change in yourself or your clients, you must apply these 4 prime directives into your self-hypnosis and hypnotherapeutic sessions.

Once you have a basis for how the mind works, we will address some of the most common myths of hypnosis your clients will ask you about. At the end of this section, you will already have a firm understanding about the concepts of hypnosis, how it works, and why it is so powerful.

Before we head to lunch, everyone will have a chance to experience the hypnotic state first hand by participating in a group hypnotic induction. During this induction, we will offer you suggestions to help you retain and recall the information you learn during the weekend.

After lunch, we will tackle one of the most important issues in hypnotherapy today, Stage Hypnosis. This section will not teach you how to do stage shows, although you will learn how to because of your understanding of the process. Rather, this section will prepare you for client questions about why people "bark like dogs" or "quack like ducks." In the layman's mind, a hypnotherapist who cannot answer EVERY question about stage hypnosis is a rank amateur. If you answer "I don't know" to one or more questions about stage shows, your client will leave and look for someone with more "power" than you. This is a critical phase in your development as a professional hypnotherapist.

Once we have demystified the stage element of hypnosis, it's therapeutic from here on out. You will start by seeing a live demonstration for smoking cessation. You will have the opportunity to track this person's success for the next 3 days. (In fact, if you want to stop smoking, you may volunteer for this role.)

The day ends with another group trance induction to assist you in integrating what you have learned, to prepare you mentally for the next two days, and to offer suggestions for a wonderful night's rest.

Day two is a very "hands on" day with plenty of exercises to help you learn powerful skills. We begin by simply explaining the demonstration you observed the day before, step by step. This process was inspired from the original teachings of Dr. A.M. Krasner, an esteemed psychologist from Boston, Massachusetts, who is a living legend in the field of hypnosis. Using the technology of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, I have converted his process into a simple , easy-to-understand 14-step process of my own. Before lunch, you will learn and rehearse a powerful exercise to

1. prepare your client for trance
2. determine how long it will take for them to enter trance
3. induce them into hypnosis
4. convince them they are under hypnosis
5. bring them out of hypnosis

That's a lot to cover, so we will cover the therapy side of hypnosis after lunch.

You will first observe a demonstration for pain control. The subject will evaluate their pain on a scale from 0-100 (100 being the highest level of pain) before the process begins. At the conclusion of the demonstration, they will re-evaluate their level on the same scale. You will see the role of hypnosis plays in tangibly alleviating pain. If you suffer from pain, you may volunteer for this role as well.

Now that you have witnessed two demonstrations, it's time to discuss the therapeutic side of hypnosis. We will show you how to conduct an effective interview, so your client can give you powerful answers that will foster powerful change. We will explain how to convert your client's list of answers into a strong and effective therapeutic process. Here's the true value of this knowledge: After this section, you will NEVER have to look at a generic hypnosis script for a client!

We begin with our third live demonstration-weight loss. Watch the subject increase his or her motivation to exercise, and to eat healthier foods. (It's always fun to go to lunch with this person to spot the change in eating habits!) After the demonstration, we will talk about what separates great hypnotherapists from good hypnotherapists which is the quality of their follow-up sessions.

We will cover the three possible scenarios that your clients will experience:

1. "I'm doing great!"
2. "I'm doing okay, but not as well as I had hoped"
3. "This stuff isn't working."

You will understand exactly how to deal with each scenario. In addition, I'll share with you my personal beliefs on how to minimize, and possibly eliminate scenario #3.

You can learn how to hypnotize other people all weekend long, but if you don't know how to apply the techniques to transform yourself, then in my opinion, the weekend has done you no good. So after lunch, we will talk about the keys to successful self-hypnosis. I'm absolutely certain that I have designed the most facile and most effective technique for self-hypnosis. After explaining how it's done, we do it. You will hypnotize yourself! During this hypnotic session, you will prepare yourself for success in the final exercise, which will be a comprehensive mental "tour" of the entire hypnosis process. My goal is for you to complete this last exercise with the knowledge, confidence and belief that you can succeed at basic behavioral hypnotherapy.

If you want to continue your educational journey, you will receive homework assignments to complete before beginning Episode II in your evolution as a hypnotherapist.