Pleasure is its own principle – we seek it for its own good. Oftentimes, we’ll do things precisely for the pleasure. We only stop to think about the activity or issue if it becomes a problem: if despite its short-term pleasure it is detrimental to our overall happiness. “Happiness” has traditionally been understood as long-lived and useful, often attained in relationships, and typically doesn’t lead to addictions or dependence. In contrast, “pleasure” has been short-lived, fa

Behind my house is a large patch of blackberries. Himalayan Blackberries, big and sweet, but with thorns and stalks that are big and stiff, too. Hacking them back is a chore, but there are sweet rewards, too. The last time I trimmed them back I really went to town. I jumped in and hacked and picked, hack-hack-hack, pick-pick-pick, hack-pick, hack-pick. You get the idea. When I came inside afterwards and washed the grit, grime and blackberry juice from my arms, I noticed how m

Basically, there are two types of hypnosis. (Really, there are as many “types” of hypnosis as there are hypnotists. But I’m generalizing styles and techniques into two broad categories.) The first is “Direct Suggestion.” This is when we get you into a trance and I simply tell you good things about yourself. “You are confident. You are a non-smoker. You eat only healthy foods and only when it is healthy to eat them. You are comfortable and pain-free.” And so on. Direct Suggest

When I started my hypnosis practice it was kind of a joke to me. The two issues hypnosis is best known for are weight loss and smoking cessation. And those were two areas I had absolutely no interest working with. Then I had my first quit-smoking client. Wham! They quit, and both of us could see right away the drastic change and improvement in their life. They were happier, healthier, more positive, less stressed and less anxious. They were thrilled. Their spouse was thrilled

10% Off for Smoking and Chewing Cessation You've wanted to quit. You may have tried to quit. Probably a couple times. But you just couldn't do it. You started up again - you may have even been thinking "Why am I doing this? I don't want this." While you lit up or dipped again. You want to quit, but on some level you need to keep smoking or chewing. That's why it is called an addiction. I can help. I have a tremendous success rate at helping people stop smoking and chewing. In

Can you take a compliment? I mean, really, hear something nice about your person or personality, and absorb it into your being, let it sink down deep into you and have it affect the way you think about yourself and your place in the world? I didn't think so. Honestly, neither can I. There always seems to be some barrier, some instinctual prejudice against myself, so that I can't easily accept positive observations about me or my character, and have that be meaningful. I doubt

Anyone can call themselves a hypnotist. How do you know if you can trust them? These five things will help you before you ever pick up the p

Depression seems at record highs in recent years – and there is evidence to support that. Some point to social isolation with increasing divorce rates and social media. Some point to the increased anxiety in our culture and lifestyle over the past ten-to-fifteen years. But there is also evidence that depression has always been a part of human existence, in every culture around the world. Now, let me make a distinction between severe, clinical depression and what I call “healt

The scope of issues that transgender individuals (and their loved ones) encounter is both broad and intense. Because of the nature of transgender identity itself there are a myriad additional considerations and stressors at play within trans people. Layer on top of that the social and political questions, issues, stressors and difficulties, not to mention the usual variety of questions, soul-searching and exploration associated with growing up, and it is clear: being transgen

Have you ever overreacted? I mean, like out-of-the-blue lost it without even realizing why you were so upset? Sure, whatever happened sucked, but the level of anger, anxiety, fear, sadness or frustration you felt wasn't really appropriate to how sort-of-bad that one situation or "thing" was, right? Sure, we've all been there. Some of us live there. This happens all the time because when we are responding to something in our lives in the present or even in the future, we are r