New Horizons in Hypnosis

Locations

New Horizons in Hypnosis' main office is located in Lunenburg, MA.

Appointments can also be held at Aquarius Sanctuary in Westford, MA.

Office hours are by appointment only.
Afternoon, Evening & Weekend sessions are available.

Payment Options

Cash or Check, as well as Visa and MasterCard (thru PayPal) are accepted.

A 10% discount is given when 4 or more sessions are paid for in advance.

Gift Certificates are also available.

Click Here To Download Printable Brochures (PDF):

Hypnosis

What is Hypnosis?

People have been studying and debating over exactly what hypnosis is for more than 200 years, but science has yet to fully explain how it actually happens. However, the basic definition of hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation combined with focused attention directed toward a specific goal.

When a person enters hypnosis, there is a change in their brain wave activity, similar to that time just before sleep when the alpha state is entered. When you are wide-awake, the beta brain wave state is predominate, but as you become relaxed, it changes to alpha. For sleep, you also go further into the theta and delta states. During the alpha state, the mind is very open to visualizations and creating a rich sensory experience. Since you are up to 200 times more suggestible even while in the light state of alpha, it is not necessary to go deep into hypnosis for change to be possible.

Some characteristics of hypnosis include:

Deep, Easy Breathing
Feelings of Well-Being
Effortless Concentration
Sense of Being Outside of Time
Heightened Sense of Imagination
More Easily Able to Recall Past Events
Increased Ability to Accept New Ideas

Everybody has the ability to enter a hypnotic state, and in fact, you already do this naturally several times a day without even realizing it. Have you ever had the experience of hitting the snooze alarm and then continuing to lie in bed with your eyes closed, aware of yourself and the room, but not quite able to wake up fully? You’ve been in a hypnotic state! Another example of hypnosis is any time when you’ve been so deeply engrossed in an activity, such as daydreaming or watching TV, that your awareness of your surroundings has faded away.

What can hypnosis be used for?

People frequently ask what kind of things hypnosis can be used for, and they are often surprised by the vast array of possibilities. Usually the first thing I like to tell them is that hypnosis is helpful for anything where your mind is influencing the situation. And the human mind is really quite powerful – what you are consciously aware of is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hypnosis has proven effective for people who want help with:

Weight Loss / Healthy Eating
Smoking Cessation
Stress Reduction
Relief from Insomnia
Pain Management
Natural Childbirth
Overcoming Fears & Phobias
Self Esteem & Confidence
Study Skills & Test Anxiety
Motivation & Organization
Good Habits for Financial Well-Being
And much, much more...

What to Expect During Your First Session

During your first session, you’ll learn about hypnosis. You will understand how you will be using hypnosis and how your subconscious mind works. Most of this session is educational, because when people know more about the process and what to expect, they tend to do better.

After your questions have been answered, you will be guided in a brief hypnosis session where you start the process that will help you achieve your own goals. Once you emerge from hypnosis, you will spend time talking about your experience.

Before you leave, additional sessions will be scheduled. During those sessions you will spend much more time in hypnosis, where the real work will begin. It is recommended that sessions be spaced not more than two weeks apart; and depending on the issue being addressed, there are typically between four to six sessions. You will also receive audio recordings of some sessions for you to listen to between sessions as well.

Some Myths About Hypnosis

Hypnosis is not sleep.
It may look like sleep to the observer, but in fact a hypnotized person is simply completely relaxed. Although some individuals do become so deeply relaxed when in hypnosis that they think they fell sleep, many in fact experience a heightened state of alertness. But for the most part, people do tend to recall everything that occurred during their session.

Everyone can be hypnotized.
What we call “hypnosis” is in fact a natural state that everyone experiences at different points during their day. Hypnotists simply use this natural human process to help change negative thoughts and behavioral patterns into ones that are positive and result in more desired behavior. If you can focus your attention, use your imagination, and have a desire to be hypnotized, you can enter into hypnosis.

The hypnotist is not in control of you.
They are only a guide, a facilitator. The power is supplied by you, the client. The hypnotist will only be in control as far as you give him/her the control. The hypnotist can only suggest, but it is the client who determines whether or not the suggestion will be carried out.

You cannot be made to do anything against your will.
You are in control of the process, including how deep you allow yourself to go, and you will only act upon suggestions that reinforce expected behavior and are aligned with your own morals. Otherwise, you will simply ignore the suggestion, or perhaps even come right out of hypnosis.

You cannot get “stuck” in hypnosis.
Should the hypnotist stop speaking to you unexpectedly, you will either come right out of the hypnotic state, or drift off to natural sleep & wake up shortly after.

Reiki Sessions

What is Reiki?

Reiki is the Japanese word for "Universal Life Force Energy," or the energy inherent in all creation, although its concepts and techniques have their origins in ancient Tibetan Buddhism. Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan studied and developed the system in the early 1900s, and then it was introduced to the western world in the mid 1970s. Reiki is a system of hands-on healing that taps into and maximizes the benefits from this universal energy to open, clear and rebalance one's energy system. The concept of using the hands to transfer healing energy to open blockages is an ancient one that spans many continents.

Reiki Symbol

Today Reiki is becoming one of the fastest growing alternative or complementary therapies in the world as more and more people discover its benefits. Here in the USA many chiropractors, massage therapists, hypnotherapists, nurses, and other health care providers are discovering the value of adding this effective modality to their practice as it greatly aids in the body’s healing process and promotes rapid personal growth. It has been found that people receiving medical therapies, such as radiation and chemotherapy, can benefit from Reiki by reducing the negative side effects and promoting the effectiveness of the treatments. Reiki provides relief from many ailments that benefit from improved internal energy flow, such as carpal tunnel, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other conditions of stiffness or pain. The healing of emotional issues and traumas can also be accelerated with Reiki. It is an effective treatment for the management and/or release of stress, fears, anxiety, anger, grief and other difficult emotions.

Reiki is a natural holistic energy healing therapy that treats the whole person – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually – through the transmission of universal life energy to restore natural balance, harmony and strength to the body’s energy centers, or chakras. Reiki always seeks to harmonize the root cause of a problem or disorder, rather than simply treating the symptoms. Reiki is also highly intuitive – if you don’t know exactly what ails you, the healing energy will go to where it will benefit you the most.

Some Benefits of Experiencing a Reiki Treatment:

deep relaxation
greater sense of peace, security and well being
produces a feeling of mental clarity, calmness
lowers blood pressure
stimulates immune system function
maximizes one’s innate healing potential
healing of dis-comfort and/or dis-ease
healing of emotional issues/traumas
helps deepen one’s connection to spirit

What is a Reiki Session Like?

Different than with massage, Reiki treatments are non-manipulative, non-invasive and the recipient remains fully clothed at all times. You will be lying comfortably on a massage/reiki table, perhaps covered with a light blanket for added comfort and warmth.

First you will be asked to focus on your breathing, and then I will lead you through relaxation techniques to help you further let go of the day’s stresses. As you continue to relax, I will move slowly around the table placing my hands gently on different positions along your body, typically corresponding to the body’s energy centers, or chakras, in order to directly connect you to the universal source and channel the energy into those areas.

You may experience physical manifestations of the energy in your body in the form of tingling, vibrations, and warmth. Like massage, Reiki stimulates the flow of energy through the body. You may (or may not) fall asleep during the session due to the deep relaxation felt on so many different levels.

HypnoBirthing® Classes
for Expecting Parents

What is HypnoBirthing?

HypnoBirthing® The Mongan Method is a comprehensive, holistic approach to natural childbirth developed in 1989 by Marie Mongan that was based on the work of English obstetrician Dr. Grantley Dick-Read. It is a program designed for the 95% of pregnancies that fall into the normal (low- or no-risk) category, offering a simple, relaxed, natural approach to having a safer, easier, more comfortable birth experience for both mother and baby. It is based on the philosophy that the mother’s body is perfectly equipped to birth her baby easily, naturally, safely, and often in a pain-free manner, because in the absence of fear and tension, her body is able to work properly by releasing hormones that relax and allow easy birth. It teaches methods to help prepare both body and mind to work in harmony during pregnancy and labor by means of relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques, proper nutrition, and education of the birth process. It is a family-focused approach that facilitates the parents’ journey together into parenthood, empowering them with confidence and to trust both in the natural process of birth as well as in themselves and each other.

Contrary to what many people may think, HypnoBirthing® mothers are definitely not unconscious during the labor and birth of their baby. The self-hypnosis, guided imagery, breathing, light touch and other techniques taught enable the birthing mother to achieve a state of profound relaxation, but she is fully aware and in control. Though deeply relaxed, she is an active participant in the labor process, able to communicate easily with her birthing companion and care providers, and can choose to move around whenever she desires. HypnoBirthing® mothers are not distracted by other people or their birthing environment, easily able to focus inward on their baby and their birthing body, and often they experience time distortion (a sense of being outside of time).

Although most expecting mothers desire to have natural, drug-free, vaginal births, HypnoBirthing® can be used for any type of birth experience. HypnoBirthing® does not promise painless birthing, though many HypnoBirthing® mothers do report having a relatively pain-free birth or one that they were able to manage easily. Approximately 60% of HypnoBirthing® moms give birth with no need for pain relief at all, while a further 20-25% only use milder forms of pain relief. Additionally, recent statistics show that HypnoBirthing® has reduced the frequency of cesarean sections, with only 16% of HypnoBirthing® mothers birthing via c-section, compared to 32% of other mothers, as well as a significant reduction in the need for having IV fluids administered during labor. Even if some form of pharmaceutical pain relief is required, or other special circumstances arise (such as requiring induction, cesarean or other procedure), the mother will experience a birth that is definitely calmer and more positive. And the benefits do not end there. HypnoBirthing® helps mothers experience a happier, more relaxed pregnancy, helps them in bonding with the baby, with breastfeeding, with facilitating better sleep, and the benefits continue long after the birth in easing the transition into their new role as a mothers (or in welcoming another new member into their family).

HypnoBirthing® Classes teach Expecting Mothers:

How her body is naturally designed to conceive, nurture and birth her baby with ease and comfort;
How she and her birth companion can begin bonding with baby even before birth;
How to eliminate harmful emotions that lead to pain-causing tension and fear;
How to relax deeply and trust her birthing body to function as it was designed to do;
How to work with her body through the sensations, assisting rather than resisting, thereby alleviating pain;
How to use her body’s natural birthing instincts to bring her baby into the world in a way that most mirrors the way that nature intended.

Some Benefits of HypnoBirthing® are:

Eliminates or greatly reduces the need for chemical painkillers, anesthesia, episiotomy and other interventions;
Shortens labor time;
Lessens fatigue during and after labor;
Allows more rapid postnatal recovery;
Creates a more integral role for the birthing companion;
Promotes special bonding of mother, baby, and birthing companion;
Empowers women so they can create the birth experience they want;
Welcomes babies into the world in the most peaceful, relaxed manner possible;
Even if a pregnant mother has special circumstances, the HypnoBirthing® techniques allow her to approach them calmly and more comfortably;
Techniques learned can continue to have life-long value long after the birth.

About HypnoBirthing® Classes
Baby Feet Image
The HypnoBirthing® program consists of 5 classes, each 2.5 hours long, held once a week for five weeks. Expecting mothers can take this course at anytime during their pregnancy, although they usually are encouraged to take HypnoBirthing® classes early in their 2nd trimester, so that through practice, the techniques learned become second nature and can be called upon automatically to produce calm relaxation in both mind and body. Even if a mother is late in her pregnancy and is just finding out about HypnoBirthing®, she should still contact me – many mothers desiring to birth their baby naturally have learned these techniques effectively even with only a couple weeks to practice, and had wonderful birth experiences. If necessary, I can arrange to teach the classes over a shorter period of time.

Small group classes as well as private classes are available. The cost includes all class materials for the mother-to-be and her birthing companion—a book, two CDs, relaxation scripts, and a number of useful handouts to assist in one’s learning of these techniques.

For more information about HypnoBirthing® classes, including the course syllabus, please visit: www.HypnoBirthing.com.

Serving Towns in North Central Massachusetts
(Acton, Ashburnham, Ashby, Athol, Ayer, Barre, Bedford, Berlin, Billerica, Bolton, Boxborough, Boylston, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Clinton, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Fitchburg, Gardner, Groton, Harvard, Holden, Hubbardston, Hudson, Lancaster, Leominster, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Lunenburg, Marlborough, Maynard, Northborough, Oakham, Paxton, Pepperell, Petersham, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Rutland, Shirley, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sterling, Stow, Sudbury, Templeton, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, West Boylston, Westborough, Westford, Westminster, Winchendon, Worcester)

and Southern New Hampshire
(Amherst, Brookline, Fitzwilliam, Greenfield, Greenville, Hollis, Hudson, Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Mason, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, New Ipswich, Pelham, Peterborough, Rindge, Sharon, Temple, Wilton).