Hypnosis and "The Secret"

It seems that everyone is talking about "The Secret" lately. In case you haven't heard of it, it is mainly about the "Law of Attraction," which says that we attract, create, and become what we think about most.
Whether it is God, some cosmic force in the universe, or simply programming our subconscious mind to take action and direct us toward what we are thinking...it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that it seems to work.
You can find evidence of this "Law of Attraction" everywhere. As Esther Hicks says in "The Secret," the one who talks about sickness most, has it...the one who talks about prosperity most, has it. There are so many examples. Pay attention to what the people around you talk about most and notice how this plays out in their lives. The problem is that most of us are not even conscious of what we are thinking most and we create (sometimes exactly what we don't want) simply by default.
So it seems simple...just change how we think and we will start attracting what we want in life, right? Maybe simple, but as many people have found, not so easy. How do you change a lifetime of thinking patterns? It certainly doesn't happen overnight, and some people get very frustrated that their thoughts keep reverting back their old way of thinking over and over again. The idea behind "the Secret, " and "Law of Attraction" is to think about what we DO want, instead of what we don't want...and consciously do it on a regular basis. So how do we change a lifetime of negative thinking patterns and start using this "Law of Attraction" to benefit out lives? Since this is an article about hypnosis, I will start there.
Hypnosis creates a state of mind that opens the door to the subconscious mind. This part of the mind contains all the old ideas, thinking patterns, learned behaviors, and controls the unconscious (automatic) body processes (breathing, heart beat, blinking, etc...). Using hypnosis, it is possible to "reprogram" old thinking patterns and create new ones. It is much like planting seeds in a garden, and the seeds start to grow, and soon you find yourself thinking about different things than you used to, and according to the "Law of Attraction, " you will start to manifest things and situations in your life that match your new thinking.
There are many things you can do other than hypnosis to help change your thinking patterns into ones that will attract what you want in your life. One way is to say affirmations. An affirmation (in this context) is a statement of something you want as if you already have it. A good example of this is, let’s say you want a better job. Say to yourself something like "Now that I have the perfect job, I am happier and things are going well for me." Another great affirmation is "Every day, in every way, I get better and better." This is a good one because it covers everything.
Affirmations work best if you write them down, always in the present tense, and read them everyday as many times as you can. You can also make index cards with affirmations on them and put them around the house, in your car, and other places where you will see them on a regular basis. Even if you don't actually read each one, your subconscious will see them and be reminded of what you want to create.
Another project that is very effective is to make a collage with pictures of what you would like to achieve. A friend of mine was going through her closet and found a collage that she had made several years before, and on it were several things that she had wanted to create at the time. There was a picture of a man and a woman who seemed very happy together, standing in front of a white house with a picket fence, and a big white dog. There were pictures of beautiful clothes, money, and several other things.
At the time she found this collage (that she had actually forgotten about) she realized that almost everything on that collage had happened. She was married to a man she was very happy with (who actually looked similar to the man in the picture), and this man came with a white house with a picket fence AND a big white dog! She was making more money in her business than she had made before, and she even had clothes that were similar to the ones on the collage. I would say that is pretty powerful stuff.
Using these tools, you can actually learn to change your thinking and use "The secret" change your life.