Well... Not Us!
Our porthole to the life of the
father of Conversational Hypnosis will try to
provide an understanding on what motivated this
great man and what sparked within him the ideas
that would later become Conversational Hypnosis.
Read on, and enter the life of...
The Undefeatable Milton Erickson
Father of Covert Hypnosis
One of the most eclectic and dynamic
psychotherapist of all time was the
irrepressible Milton Erickson. Always a
consummate practical joker Erickson appreciated
creativity and resources best-utilized both in
his personal life and therapeutic approach as
can be seen in Ericksonian hypnosis and his
trademark practice of conversational hypnosis.
Even as a young man Milton Erickson would often
utilize humor to make a valid point or to set-up
a theory for better comprehension. This is just
one of the endearing qualities and
characteristics of the man that would forever
change the landscape of how many individuals not
only think of psychotherapy but practice the
science of the subconscious. Erickson’s most
famous theory, covert or conversational
hypnosis was turned into a very real and
powerful living practice within a few years of
Erickson announcing his findings.
Milton Erickson’s Birthplace
Milton H. Erickson was born in the now
ghost-town Aurum, Nevada in 1901. Erickson’s
hometown was once a thriving silver-mining town
and this is what inevitably drew Albert and
Clara Erickson to the dusty, desolate western
states of the U.S. Milton Erickson would find
himself traveling from east to west back east
again and finally would live out his days in the
region that he loved and respected for both its
natural beauty and thoughtful inhabitants, the
Great West. With a penchant for reading at a
very early age ‘Pat’ would springboard this
thirst for knowledge into a well-respected and
well-defined literary pursuit.
As a youngster Milton Erickson dreamed of a
career that he found both befitting and
courageous, the wise-old country physician of
days gone. Before his dreams could be realized
young Milton was stricken with a rare but
devastating disease, poliomyelitis. Polio was
still around in the early 20th century and
although unfortunate to contract this
paralytic-nerve disease would not be a barrier
in Milton Erickson’s life, quite the contrary.
Milton Erickson’s Lemonade
(When Life Gives
You Lemons…)
Milton Erickson would turn tragedy into vitality
and would create one the greatest stories ever
told of a young man stricken with this
debilitating disease. The stories that young
Milton Erickson could weave would provide him
with both lodging and sustenance, especially on
his most famous trip down the Mississippi River.
While recovering from his medical disorder,
Milton Erickson spent most of the days listening
to the conversations and hidden messages buried
within those put-together words and created a
movement. Unbeknownst to Milton Erickson as he
lay in his bed stricken with the disease that
left unable to walk, the foundation for
conversational hypnosis was being formulated in
Erickson’s mind. This technique would be the
benchmark for Milton Erickson and would prove
him more than just an intelligent man with an
idea. The methods in which Erickson thought
about while listening intently to the many
conversations of both family and business
associations and friends that would come to the
adjacent rooms next to his were also a process
of recovery for the young man. Always thinking
and unable to sleep for hours at a time, Milton
Erickson was able to develop the beginning steps
to a movement that is now seen as valid and with
great consequences.
Conversational Hypnosis Takes Shape
One of the best stories that Milton Erickson
would recite time and time again was the one
concerning his planned camping trip, as a young
man, down the Mississippi to St. Louis,
Missouri. This is where his theories of
conversational hypnosis and basically the entire
foundation of Ericksonian hypnosis began. Upon a
last-minute cancellation it seemed as if this
trip of recovery and exploration and self-worth
was snuffed out or so it seemed. What would
happen during the next six weeks would forever
change the life of Milton Erickson and showed
him to be as one of the greatest practitioners
of both psychotherapy and self motivation of his
time. What is outstanding to know of this canoe
trip was that Milton Erickson could not walk
when he was helped into the boat and made-ready
for his solitary journey with only five dollars
in his pocket. Erickson knew well before being
placed in the boat that he would have to
independently and with great intestinal
fortitude, learned to develop his muscles to be
able to walk again. When Milton Erickson
returned after being carried down to the river’s
edge by friends and family and deposited into
that little canoe he had built his upper-body
strength to the degree that he could then walk
with only the use of a cane.
Covert Hypnosis Becomes a Steady Force
Milton Erickson used this adventure to
spring-forth into his new life with excitement
and new-found determination, for Milton Erickson
had not only defeated a disease that normally
kept individuals chained to a wheel-chair but
had created many new therapeutic discoveries
that to this day are seen as simply astounding.
With his thirst for learning, that was
insatiable, Milton Erickson begun understanding
that with nature and therapeutic devices of
self, a person could heal from the inside out.
The trip down the Mississippi introduced Milton
Erickson to the many different types of people
that lived and received 100% of their needs and
requirements from the Old Man River. From those
experiences the man would often draw upon the
nights where he spun yarns for food and slept by
campfires with strangers, which had really, in
fact, become friends.
Cementing of Covert
Hypnosis
The philosophy of Milton Erickson was
undoubtedly shaped by his medical condition and
lifelong struggles that would energize his mind
and created some of the most fascinating
discoveries in the realm of conversational
hypnosis. With his creation and introduction of
conversational hypnosis Milton Erickson not only
got the ball rolling on the possibility of
subliminal suggestions regardless of the
affiliation and discovery of the individual
being hypnotized, yet also solidified his role
as a great teacher and lifelong student of
hypnotherapy. Conversational hypnosis and Ericksonian hypnosis became one of the most
widely utilized tools of psychologists and
psychiatrists as well.
Ericksonian Hypnosis
The
school of subconscious thought is referred to as Ericksonian hypnosis and is widely received as a
valid and viable entity in both psychology as
well as psychotherapy. Milton Erickson’s career
was constantly in a state of flux regardless of
his inability to use his body 100% of the time.
Any human being that could accomplish and create
so much - such as singlehandedly founding the
practices of conversational hypnosis or covert
hypnosis - with so little, obviously deserves
both respect and honor long after his passing.
Milton Erickson passed away on March 25, 1980 in
Phoenix, Arizona. Milton Erickson gave immense
benefits and contributions to the world of
conversational hypnosis otherwise known as
covert hypnosis have paved the way for recent
explorations into the mind and most importantly
the subconscious mind for a plethora of
researchers and leading institutions across the
globe. As the world opens up to the
possibilities of inward thinking to heal, the
role of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis owes a
great deal of gratitude to the pioneer that was
Dr. Milton Erickson.
Milton Erickson was a true
pioneer and was often heard reciting tales of
his extreme youth crossing the Mississippi from
the eastern coastline into the great big open
sky country of the Western states. Milton
Erickson may have passed away, but his great
legacy lives on to this very day. He invented
the theory of conversational hypnosis and
single-handedly revolutionized the field of
psychotherapy.
A Word about Conversational
Hypnosis Terminology
While this article deals
with the life of Milton Erickson, it cannot be
complete without adding a few words about
Erickson’s most powerful hypnosis method, Conversational Hypnosis. But first – let’s
put some order into the terminology. This
article used a few very similar terms such as Ericksonian Hypnosis, Conversational Hypnosis
and Covert Hypnosis. You might have also
encountered the terms Underground, Street and
Black Ops Hypnosis. It’s all very simple,
really, as many of these terms refer to the
same.
Ericksonian Hypnosis refers to Erickson’s
complete school of hypnosis techniques. Arguably
the prominent figure in psychotherapy after
Freud, Milton Erickson left behind a plethora of
knowledge. In his time, Ericksonian Hypnosis was
considered groundbreaking, and to this day it is
considered unconventional and extremely
effective.
The main method in Ericksonian
Hypnosis is Covert Hypnosis, also known as
Conversational Hypnosis. The method received
this name as unlike traditional hypnosis it
involves hypnotizing other people without them
noticing (hence – covert). Conversational
Hypnosis combines traditional hypnosis methods
along with NLP and behavioral techniques.
Extremely rapid inductions can be performed
through seemingly innocent conversation (hence –
conversational), through a slight of the hand, a
handshake, even a stare. Our members section
shows several cases of hypnosis induction
through conversational hypnosis.
Conversational
hypnosis is covert, and involves placing others
without their acknowledgement into a trance-like
state and controlling their behavior. It also
breaks the boundaries of traditional hypnosis
methods. Thus, it also earned the names
“Underground Hypnosis”, “Black Ops-Hypnosis” and
“Street Hypnosis”. Within small variations, all
names refer to the same methods developed and
honed by the unique Milton H. Erickson.
For a
list of the best conversational
hypnosis courses we know,
click here.
To read more on the best
conversational hypnosis course we know,
bar none,
click here.
