Hypnotize Yourself to a Worry-Free Life by Crystal Dwyer

Crystal Dwyer, a new age instructor, has developed a set of guided meditations to enable listeners to improve their lives in a variety of ways. These tracks address issues from insomnia to anxiety. She has a pleasant voice and the meditations are enjoyable.

If you’re not into new age themes, you may want to try another hypnosis program. At the beginning of the audiobook, Dwyer is straight forward with her beliefs about God being within each of us and our individual power as creators. I could see that being problematic with those who don’t connect with those teachings.

I feel that the title of this work is a bit misleading. There are going to be ups and downs in any life. To suggest that you can eliminate anything seems suspect and sort of pie-in-the-sky. It reminds me of books that tout “read this and lose ten pounds in three weeks” and things of that nature. These meditations are valuable enough without the publisher (or author) making promises that perhaps they can’t keep.

That being said, I don’t think many people know what hypnosis is. In my experience, hypnosis, similar to a trance-state, just feels like deep relaxation. Everyone is different, but when I’m under, my body feels heavy but light, which seems impossible. My limbs sort of disappear and I feel as if I’m floating.

Once I’m there, in that relaxed state, then I let the meditation I’m listening to just wash over me. It feels really good actually. Generally, at the end, the hypnotist will say something like, “You’re coming back and you’ll feel entirely refreshed.” And, wouldn’t you know it, I do.

I think popular culture hasn’t done hypnosis any favors with people’s expectations about how it works. (The film “Office Space” comes to mind.) You don’t turn into some suggest-able zombie person when you’re under. Like most things, hypnosis and relaxation are a choice. Worry is a choice. It’s all about controlling that inner narrative and changing your inner thought processes to ones that are pleasing to you.

A child once asked me to teach her about hypnosis so she could “control her brother”, which cracked me up. But then I explained to her that hypnosis isn’t a tool for controlling other people. The name of the game is improving and controlling yourself.

It’s like Marcus Aurelius said: “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Recommended for seekers looking for another tool to help them on their path to self knowledge.

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High Self-Esteem and Unshakable Confidence: The Science of Feeling Great! by various authors

High Self-Esteem and Unshakable Confidence is a mixed bag of self help and psychology tips from half a dozen different speakers. Some of the speakers are good, but some are mediocre at best. Almost all talked about common sense things.

Larry Iverson approaches this topic from a psychologist’s point of view. He wants you to get up from your desk and get exercise. Watch how you talk to yourself.

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com

Bob Proctor, one of the featured speakers from the new age blockbuster The Secret, is more of a motivational speaker who uses anecdotal stories to encourage listeners towards their goals of self confidence. If I had to pick a favorite out of the bunch, I think Proctor would be my pick. I like how approachable he sounds and as if he’s just having a chat with a friend or mentor.

Lorraine Howell uses visualization techniques to nurture self confidence. It’s very short and some-what helpful if you have trouble picturing yourself as a confident person.

Laura Stack’s disc is about “Stopping Your Stinking Thinking” and it kind of felt like the type of speech you’d hear at a motivational meeting for women. It was cutsie, but not necessarily my favorite.

Kimberly Alyn reminded me of Stack. It was a good motivational speech, but I didn’t get much out of “Stress Management for Better Life Balance”. In fact, the two were rather similar in my mind.

Crystal Dwyer’s contribution is a guided hypnosis and new age take on confidence and life creation. She had the most “hippie” feel of the group. I’m rather fond of both hypnosis and new age topics, but for those who are looking for a straight business presentation, this may come off as too granola or religious. She reminds listeners that our ability to create our own reality is a gift from God and we’ll find our confidence by embracing our own power.

Finally, Dr. Mache Seibel, now at Harvard Medical School (not certain where he was during the recording of this CD), presents common psychological problems through song. I’m not going to lie — very cringey. The spoken parts between the songs were actually very informative and managed to convey what could be complex topics in a simple and understandable manner.

The songs themselves were just painful and I found myself skipping through most of them. Dr. Seibel explains that he prefers to sing songs because sometimes that helps people recall what to do when they’re triggered and it brings a smile to people’s faces. His method just wasn’t for me. Maybe it’ll work for you.

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Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Tag: crystal dwyer