It was not easy growing up. As a kid I was interested in coils, chemicals, stink bombs, smoke bombs, unusual and interesting things. Being different in those days got you beat up and called names. Starting in the fifth grade, I was chased home nightly by six to eight kids. If they caught me, I was held down and beat up by the leader of the pack. As a result of this, I excelled in track, but it didn't do anything for my confidence.

Two years later, about the time the neighbor's radio across the street and three doors down blew up mysteriously as I was conducting an experiment with high voltage coils in my bedroom, which also blew out the fuses in my parents' house, I discovered an ad for a hypnotism book in the back of a magazine. I wanted to send off for it, but was immediately informed that "hypnotism is the work of the devil", which was my parents way of saying no. Of course, I sent for it anyway. I expected to learn something about controlling other peoples minds, (it doesn't work that way) and after reading the book several times, I missed the point completely, but I followed the instructions and it worked! During Christmas vacation, I used hypnosis to change the way I felt about myself. The "Kick Me" sign came off my back and the "pack" left me alone.

High school was easy. I pulled an easy "A" in chemistry, physics, and other science
related subjects. Being a goof off by nature, I usually got average grades in every thing else. I graduated in 1953 and could have gone to college on a science scholarship, but decided not to because I had a girl friend, a 1939 Chevy, and a job in the local woolen mill. As the story goes, She and I split, the Chevy blew up, and the woolen mill burned down in 1955.

I found another job, and, started taking ballroom dancing lessons. Dancing with the teacher was no problem. However, when it came time to ask a girl to dance, there was a problem. Too inhibited! A little self hypnosis solved the problem, and I went to the top of the class almost immediately. There was a lot of partying during this time period, which usually resulted in staying up most of the night and having to get up and go to work after two to four hours in bed, during which time I was in hypnosis. You can get more rest in two to four hours of hypnosis than you can in the same amount of time asleep. This worked reasonably well for the next seven years, at which time I decided to marry my dancing partner, and that didn't work at all.

By now it was 1963. The marriage had collapsed almost instantly. The good news was I had an opportunity to go to college on a government grant. I was taking 21 hours a week, forestry and related subjects. Learning had been easy in high school, but there was a problem now after ten years of being out of the classroom environment. I discovered I could go into hypnosis and run the program "I will read, I will retain, I will recall at will the following information" and come back up to my normal awareness and read the material, once, and get a passing grade. I graduated in 1964 and, after looking up the side of a mountain I would have to climb, never worked in forestry.

College is a wonderful education. Not only do you learn about things you want to do, you learn what it is you do not want to do. I definitely did not want to work in forestry. However, I can still remember much of that material

My government grant was cut off and I was now walking instead of driving. I was also picking up bottles to feed myself, because I couldn't afford to eat. The bottle money went into the soup pot. If I ran out of soup, I didn't eat. After you don't eat for four or five days, the stomach shrivels and the hunger pangs go away. I went from 190 lb. to 140 lb. I answered a job ad which read "Aircraft company seeking career minded young man to demonstrate safety equipment in the home. $125.00 a week guaranteed." That was good money in 1964. I walked back and forth, two plus miles out and two plus miles back, for a week before I discovered this was direct sales, selling fire alarms in the home on commission. Here I was, afraid to talk to people, especially males. They used to beat me up! I tried anyway and failed miserably. Everything I said came out in a blob. I used self hypnosis, once again, to get around the fear and speech problems. In the middle of the night, in my sleep state, I would direct my subconscious mind to replay the sale I had missed, as a dream, until I closed the sale. Within a short period of time, I had gone from least likely to succeed to the top of the office in sales. There is an 85% failure factor in the direct sales business, and that's for people with normal problems! I bought a brand new Mustang convertible and was promoted several times and put in charge of training other young men looking for that "$125.00 a week, guaranteed".

Over the years, I have changed trades several times, each time rising to a higher position rapidly. Hypnosis has been a major factor in my life and helped me become who I am today. Some of my own uses of self hypnosis are: Enhanced learning, elimination of test fright, I have overcome fears and gained self confidence, relived ulcer symptoms, changed habits, eliminated pain after major surgery, relived the pain of arthritis, accelerated healing and solved many personal problems too numerous to mention.

If there is a moral to this story, it would be, "You can do anything you want with the proper mental programming, and Hypnosis is the quickest way to do it" I do have one regret. I wish I could go back in time with today's knowledge and confidence. Although I used hypnosis to change my personal life and to advance in the many varied jobs I have held, it took too long to realize what a wonderful tool I possessed.

Howard Hamilton has a private practice in Hypnotherapy and teaches Hypnosis for Certification through the Howard L. Hamilton School of Hypnotism located near Jefferson OR. (541) 327-3513.