My Blog
Brian’s innovative spirit and compassionate insight clarify the power of hypnotherapy as compared to other mental wellness disciplines. Search here to learn more about a specific concern.
Being a Gentleman
If as a man you have subscribed to “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” remember that rest is a necessary component to building strength. At Hypnosis Rising, I will help you learn to locate carried tension, offer that part kindness, and cultivate the capacity...
Positively Awe-full
Martin Seligman, presiding over the American Psychiatric Association, attempted to shift the focus of psychiatry from illness to wellness. As a counterweight to the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual (DSM), he produced an inventory of beneficial character traits. The...
Growing into Relationship
What does it mean to become an adult? We have social conventions that chart our progress: a driver’s license at sixteen, voting and sexual consent at eighteen, and tippling at twenty-one. While those milestones assume that we have achieved a level of maturity, few...
Character Isn’t Always the Answer
In creating the Mental Bank (TM), a comprehensive motivational therapy, John Kappas recognized that American culture conditions us to believe the money equates to security. The method awards fantasy dollars to the subconscious for its support on the intermediate steps...
Let Us Be Reasonable
Trapped in line behind a mother with a squalling child, I took in the grasping toward the candy rack, and advised, “You know, that’s not going to work much longer. You need to learn how to talk.” The child began to pout, and then settled into thoughtful repose. In...
Hypnosis and ADHD
On the Hypnosis Rising home page, I assert that the division of the mind is a choice. Developmentally, the formation of the conscious identity is a necessary step toward independence. The child caught in the throes of that decision, however, is not conscious of that...
Anxious About Calm?
Does the thought of taking time off drain your energy? Believe it or not, it can. Our body has two energy production modes, corresponding to anxiety or calm. They require different diets and schedules. The mode of anxiety is opportunistic and reactive; the mode of...
Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse
The tendency to bond to narcissists arises in childhood, often when a child is required to manage a parent's emotions. The result is a lack of self-awareness, which goes as deep as ignoring the signals sent by the body concerning what serves your organic wellness....
Our Search for Meaning
The Golden Rule of control theory is “the most flexible part of a system controls its behavior.” This explains why the human cortex has taken over the world. The cortex operates on simple principles: figure out what events happen together and generate responses to...
Soothing Self-Care
We are tempted to pretend that the wound inside of us doesn't exist. The natural thing to do when we cut our finger, though, is to put a bandage on it, knowing that the pain will be soothed because we have taken positive action to promote healing. At Hypnosis Rising,...
Beautiful New Minds
Life Is complicated. That is true both as respects biology and society. The brain seeks to prioritize the signs arising from the world and to coordinate the body’s response to events. Because the world is complicated, the brain is complicated. Organizing that...
Brave New Selves
The human brain is a complex, organic, continuously evolving system. For those suffering mental conflict, this has practical consequences for the healing process. Complex: nobody can tell you exactly why you are suffering or how to recover. Organic: as it evolves, the...