You’ve seen the hypnotist entertainer guys make people act like monkeys, but there’s another practical application to hypnosis, namely “hypnotherapy.” And Lafayette is in on action. Mark Babineaux is an attorney, mediator, collaborative divorce professional, and forensic hypnotist as well as a peak performance and quantum focus coach from Lafayette. He received his original hypnosis education from Infinity School of Hypnosis in Baton Rouge and is an adjunct professor with Alpha University. He runs his own hypnosis practice that helps individuals and groups overcome destructive habits and fears, deal with pain and stress, and improve beneficial habits. Tonight Babineaux will give a free presentation on the uses and process of self-hypnosis at the Main Public Library in downtown Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. It is free and the public is invited to attend. For more information, call 261-5792.
POSTHASTE WITH HYPNOTHERAPIST, MARK BABINEAUX
How long have you been a practicing hypnosis?
I started 26 years ago. I was a heavy smoker and went to a group hypnosis session at UMC to stop smoking.
What do you teach at your lectures?
Basically I teach self-hypnosis, explaining how it works between the communication of the conscious and subconscious mind and how hypnosis is a natural state that we all posses and can control. And we can all develop the skill to use it to improve our lives.
How similar is that to meditation?
I tell people meditation is the listening end of the same mental process. And hypnosis is the talking end of it. The idea of hypnosis is to get your conscious and subconscious mind to accept the same idea at the same time.
How resistant is the average person to hypnosis?
Well, I think the level of resistance is directly relative to the degree of fear or misconception about what exactly hypnosis is. Most people’s think of “stage hypnosis” type entertainment. Although that is a valid form, I use hypnosis primarily for helping people with serious obstacles in their lives…smoking, weight problems, addictions, stage fright, fear of heights, and even study habits.
What is forensic hypnosis?
I teach it. It is used to help people recall or refresh their memory of an event, primarily in criminal and civil cases. Usually it’s used to get a more accurate description of a bank robber or a glimpse of license plate or to get a better description of a victim’s assailant.
Do you ever run across subjects who’ve experienced “missing time” – a common trait among UFO abductees who sometimes recall their experiences by means of regression-type hypnotherapies?
Never anyone with UFOs or anything like that. But I have had a couple of instances of people with lapses of memory. We all actually have perfect memory. We just each have different levels and capabilities of recall.
What are the mechanics of hypnotizing someone?
It is helping the person relax to a level where they’re either willing to bring an event to the present moment so it can be dealt with on an emotional level or it is a process of reprogramming what the subconscious mind has taken for granted and caused you to react in such a way. Hypnosis is the form that I use. It has the function of helping you create your reality with the power of thought. You become who you think you are. The expectations that you create are the most likely outcomes you will experience.
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