Blog: Local Hypnotherapist Shares How to Enjoy Life More

Loren Bennitt had enjoyed 20 years of success in printing sales when she felt called to do something more. She quit the printing business to pursue her true passion: helping others to enjoy a more fulfilling life. I’m glad she did because it put us on a collision course that ultimately led to a most powerful friendship. 

The first time Loren came to my house, she came in through the kitchen window (which always reminds me of a certain Beatles song). We were returning from a spiritual training in Virginia, and she gave me a ride home from LAX—only to discover that I’d been locked out of my house. While I was busy railing about the situation, she was busy clambering in the one unlocked window. That’s how she operates; she gets past the false barriers and finds the solution.

Since leaving the printing business, Loren says she has completed more training, from neurolinguistic programming to Reiki energy healing, than she cares to document. While all of that training formed the foundation for her current work, she says that hypnosis has given her the single most effective tool for helping people lead more meaningful lives. How so?  When I asked, she rapid fired off a number of benefits.

Hypnosis can help us let go of old patterns that prevent us from achieving our goals. It helps us access those deeper levels of our subconscious mind where beliefs that keep us stuck in old patterns, habits, and behaviors operate. She says, “as children we believe everything we hear and experience and all of that information goes straight into our unconscious mind. 

That programming, which is usually in place by age seven or eight years of age, informs our behavior throughout our lives.” That’s why it’s so challenging to make significant changes in our behavior that allow us to lose weight, make more money or find a significant other.  The beliefs that keep us in those patterns have been set in place since an early age.

Hypnosis is a suggestible, relaxed state of mind where we can speak directly to the subconscious about a behavior or belief we desire to change without the usual critical filters interfering. Loren says that, “when this relaxed state of mind is used purposefully through hypnosis, you more easily bypass the critical mind and speak directly to your subconscious, where those old programs are stored. 

Further, you can even rehearse the new pattern or behavior as if it’s really happening.” For example, if someone wants to start an effective exercise program but can never stick with it, they can experience not only the willingness to engage in exercise in hypnosis, but the actual enjoyment of engaging in exercise. This releases old patterns that say exercise is a drudgery or painful and replaces it with a more pleasant experience.

Loren says, “A lot of people use affirmations to help them accomplish such goals, and this may or may not actually assist them in any significant way. When affirmations are introduced in a suggestible state such as hypnosis, however, they are much more likely to prove effective because the mind’s suggestibility makes the outcome more believable.”  

Loren also says that self-hypnosis before sleep helps induce a deeper, more relaxing sleep, which also gives the body a chance to repair and recover. 

Although she sees clients in her office in Tarzana, Loren does some of her work from home. She is a member of Work@Homers, the networking group about which I’ve blogged previously. This Thursday,  June 7, at 1 p.m., after our regular networking lunch, Loren will offer a workshop “Increase Mental Clarity and Focus with Self-Hypnosis,” in which she will share self-hypnosis tools that can help us increase our success and enjoyment of life.

She says that by taking a few 3-4 minute breaks throughout the day, we can achieve a state of calm which helps us focus on priorities and be more effective throughout the day.  This workshop is free and is open to the public. RSVP to 818-398-4995 or to kc2la@pacbell soon, as space is limited for this very special presentation.

For more about Loren Bennitt, visit www.lorenbennitt.com
For more about Work@Homers, see www.meetup.com/WorkAtHomers or www.facebook.com/Work@Homers.