Hypnosis, the Writer & the Writing

 

Next Workshop:

To Be Announced

8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

 

• Want to discover the true nature of some of your writing blocks?

• Want to listen to your body to further your inspiration for writing?

• Want out-of-the-box techniques to enhance your writing?

• Want to use hypnosis to get you into the NOW, into the ZONE where writing becomes a flow rather than a flop?

• Want to discover something more about the writer in you?

• Want to interact with others to develop further your writing expertise?

 

 

Then Come Join Us!

 

All powerful writing is hypnotic--it is engendered in an altered (hypnotic) state and then engenders a similar state in its receivers. The more hypnotic the writing is in its genesis, the more likely it will alter, expand the awareness of the listener or reader.

 

Being fully present in the NOW is the writer's gateway into this altered state, where the writing seems to write itself, where the writer seems to be no more than a unique filter for a flow of material generated beyond the personality. When the writer is thus entranced, this state is altar-ed, serving as a mystical, spiritual foundation for the word made flesh, for incarnation into the world of time.

 

Unfortunately, at times, we clog our filters with the unprocessed beliefs, unproductive patterns of response, and inhibiting purposes that we usually identify as "writing blocks." This workshop is designed to help participants move through these difficulties in a variety of ways.

 

The Workshop:

 

The primary modality of the workshop is hypnosis, the altered state of relaxed alertness, which will be used in two forms: 1) dynamic hypnosis (improvisation) and 2) relaxation hypnosis. Both hypnotic forms help us get into the NOW, which is the point of power to re-create continually ourselves and our writing. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring phenomenon in the lives of all of us. Everyday, we spontaneously go into a light trance, as, for instance, we focus intently on activities such as reading, working on the computer, playing soccer, daydreaming, relaxing, etc. In hypnosis, despite popular beliefs fostered by movies, TV, and stage hypnotists, we are always in control and will remember most, if not all, that we experience.

 

In the first part of the day, we will engage in the following activities associated with dynamic hypnosis:

 

• Warm-up listening exercise to shape personal introductions

• Improvised body movement to develop characters

• Communal, improvisational storytelling (verbal and written)

 

(However, given the importance of "flow" in our process, still other exercises may simply "emerge" from our experience in the NOW and prompt us to follow them instead of the ones listed above.)

 

We will improvise with our bodies to bring forth hidden characters within us, characters that will tell us something about ourselves as writers and about our writing. The use of the body/mind in such a way grounds our writing and being in the sensory world, giving "weight" and substance to our words.

 

Communal, improvisational story-telling allows participants to practice loosening otherwise stultifying control over the creative process. The communal context becomes an externalization and symbol of ones "Inner Community" of voices that often need to be heard and invited to work together to produce a compelling piece of writing. When applied to the inner group of voices, the improvisation "rules" of "Accept all offers" and "Make your partner look good" help the individual become more receptive to rich, out-of-the-box, inner perspectives that otherwise might be blocked by the conscious mind.

 

During the second part of the day, we will be using relaxation hypnosis. This involves participants' lying or sitting down and opening to cues for deep, rhythmic breathing and progressive relaxation of the body. This process will be repeated several times, each time to invite group members to engage in several of the following processes.

 

(Once again, still other processes may simply "emerge" from our process and prompt us to follow them instead of the ones listed below.)

 

• Going to a Calm Place to Open to Messengers of Inspiration

• Speaking to a Block to Find Out What It Wants So It Can Become Your Ally

• Going to your Inner Library Where You Will See Your Published Book with Its Publication Info, along with Back- Cover Reviews and Comments from Readers

• Regression to Times of Powerful Writing

• Suggestion Self-Hypnosis for Writing

• Making your writing a character in your life

 

NOTE:

• Bring backrest to sit on, pillow & blanket to cover you during relaxation hypnosis, writing pads and pens/pencils.

• For lunch, either bring a bag lunch (refrigeration is available) or

• something to microwave. The hour reserved for lunch is not enough time to go into town for food.

• Bagels, cream cheese and butter will be offered in the morning.

 

Instant Coffee (High Octane and Decaf) & Herbal Tea will beavailable throughout the day, along with fruit & nuts.

 

Testimonials:

 

Joe, I want to thank you for a truly inspiring workshop. The only way I know to put into words how it affected me is to share with you the poem that came out of it:

 

Ghost Story

 

September. One sugar maple leaf

starts to change her dress. Crimson spreads

across her veined arms. Time shivers.

Filled with joy the leaf begins to dance

with autumn wind until a sharp gust

knocks her to the dry, chill ground.

Sister leaves follow, shimmy, sway,

swoop, fall ecstatic into final

sleep. Come October, brown brittle

litter lines the nearby road. Black

branches clothed in slips of lichen fill

the blue sky: doilies of dark lace.

 

An old woman walks the path of faded

leaves, white hair ruffled by a ghost.

--B.D., Editor & Reporter

 

Joe's Hypnotherapy for Writers workshop is rich in tools and techniques for managing blocks and juicing up one’s creative flow. As a facilitator, he is highly gifted in helping each participant recognize the source of his or her individual blocks and how to learn from them: that is the real prize here.

--J.D., a Leonine Writer

 

I have always found that Joe brings value to an event. Sometimes it is in the quiet; sometimes it is in the burst of energy. In all, there is an authenticity that propels his message to where it is most needed.

--M.B., Consultant, Speaker, and Writer.

 

We were writers of every description, from professional to recreational,from seasoned to aspiring. Together we experienced a highly enjoyable and creative "laboratory for learning", and a panoply of surprisingly simple and effective exercises to help us in our writing process. Through playful improvisation, creative movement, focused breathing, and formal and informal hypnosis to help us tap into all our senses, we were reminded of how much can happen when we listen beyond the voices of the conscious mind (that perennially annoying source of self criticism and writer's block).As we practiced trusting the process and simultaneously lessening our focus on product, we reconnected to our own personal way with words. We were learning how to sail ourselves out of the doldrums. We discovered ourselves to be richer sources of images and ideas than we ever imagined, and we all found these personal riches simply available for the asking, always waiting for us, just below the surface of our daily lives and experiences.In "Hypnosis, The Writer, & the Writing," I was so completely engaged all day long, that I felt both surprised and dismayed when I heard it was time to go home! After a day with Joe, we had real tools at our fingertips. And, better yet, we could take them home and use them ourselves.

-S.M., Editor and Administrator

 

Since I was a teenager, I kept a diary, writing for myself every day.As an adult, I was a writer and an editor for newspapers anda large corporation. When I heard of Joe Mancini's writing courseI realized I had not written anything for myself in the last year. His one-day workshop renewed my resolve to write just for the love of writing. That evening I couldn't sleep until I did some writing.I went over what we did in the workshop and what I wrote.Then I searched my book shelves and finally found my diary. Joe, thank you for recharging my writing batteries!

--J.B., Freelance Editor

 

As a writer who has failed to live up to his gifts, I found this workshop helpful in identifying what is holding me back. With his usual perceptiveness, Joe Mancini has found a way of honing in on the diverse writing challenges of the participants, and of devising techniques for overcoming these challenges. If you want to re-awaken the writer buried within, this workshop is the way to go!

-R.W., Attorney

 

Joe, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for the writer's workshop and creating a safe and warm environment to do some self exploration around writing blocks. Your warm and gentle approach creates a safe haven for the soul to open to the conscious mind.

--S.M., Health Counselor/Coach

 

Joe is a master teacher. We spent the first two hours in introductions, where Joe seemed to effortlessly find the core block keeping each participant from writing at their best level and gracefully worked with each one of us in a compassionate and powerful way. He is extraordinary!

--A.K., Executive Director

 

The writing workshop was an easy and enjoyable experience where I got to learn from more experienced writers that I have nothing to fear about writing. The time went by so fast for me, and I was not tired at the end. And a moment too soon, as I got charged with "writing energy" to tackle writing projects I had been postponing for so long."

--S.T., Writer du Jour!

 

Joe's Bio:

Joe has a Ph.D. in American Literature and Languages from Harvard University. He has taught literature (including psychology-and- literature courses) and writing full-time or part-time in 19 institutions in Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Among his teaching venues are Harvard, M.I.T., University of Massachusetts/Boston, University of Maryland at College Park, Georgetown, the George Washington University, and the Smithsonian. He also taught poetry therapy at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and has facilitated workshops on autobiographical writing for seniors and for men. For eleven years he taught autobiographical writing at The Writer's Center, now located in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

He has published many reviews and critical articles in professional journals; in addition, his book, The Berryman Gestalt: Therapeutic Strategies in the Poetry of John Berryman, was published by Garland.

 

Please read the general bio on this website for information on Joe's other work in business consulting, coaching, hypnotherapy and Roundtable Theatre for Spiritual Development.