Using Hypnosis to Experience True Peace of Mind With Sherris Cottier Shank 

[00:00:00] Hey ho, Allyson Scammell here, and we have an amazing episode for you today on hypnosis, and I am such a huge believer in hypnosis, and for me, especially when you feel particularly stuck on something, you have A fear that feels irrational that just cannot go away because what it does is it shines a light into your subconscious, into those places that you can’t consciously feel or sense are there, but they are a major part of who you are and you.

[00:00:37] It is triggering your fears. It’s triggering your behaviors. It’s taking joy away from your experience. It’s, causing you to engage in habits or patterns you just don’t want to be engaged in anymore. And so I have an amazing guest today who’s going to walk us how you can use hypnosis to heal and really get a peaceful mindset. Oh, doesn’t that feel good? And before we get to our amazing guest for the day, I do want to share a listener review. And this comes from the amazing Mary Sanders. And she left a couple of reviews. And listen, you Spotify folks, I didn’t know how to access the Spotify reviews.

[00:01:23] It’s not exactly the most user friendly thing in the world. So I finally found my Spotify review. So if you had left me a review there, uh, and you’re wondering, well, why hasn’t Allyson read it yet? Uh, that is why. So Mary left a couple comments. The first was on the episode I did with Amy Hallberg about healing by writing your book.

[00:01:47] And she says, I loved Amy. Wasn’t she great? I’m an author and this was such valuable info. And we’ll go ahead and link that podcast to the show notes. And if you haven’t checked it out, I invite you to do that. Mary also commented on an equally amazing podcast episode I did with Nina Barry about Human Design and the Parenting Journey.

[00:02:11] And she says, loved this episode. Thank you so much. Nina is awesome. And that is true. Nina is very awesome. So both of those episodes will be in the show notes, and I know in your heart, you might be feeling the nudge to head over to wherever it is you listen and let me know specifically what you received from an episode.

[00:02:33] I will read your words on the air. And if you screenshot your review and send it to me, I will send you a very nice high value Bespoke intuitive gift. I will feel into your needs in the moment and what might really serve you on your path. And that gift will be from me to you with love and gratitude. Getting back to hypnosis, I speak today with the amazing Sherris Shanks. And guess what you guys, I asked her to hypnotize me, during her interview. She had no idea I was going to ask her to do that, but she totally went with the flow and we have an incredible experience, and I think it really demonstrates how quickly and powerfully hypnosis can work.

[00:03:20] So why don’t we go ahead and get right to it in today’s episode, Sherris reveals how hypnotherapy helps us to heal.

[00:03:30] Get clarity on our subconscious thinking and experience true peace of mind. We’ll end on an invitation that will have you better understanding the hidden fears coming from your subconscious that sabotage your efforts so you can release them for good. So you’re gonna want to stay with us until the end. Hello, Soul Guide Circle. That is the name of this global and growing community of soul guided leaders and entrepreneurs. In the Soul Guide Circle, we are using our spiritual gifts to grow prosperous heart led businesses that are on the leading edge of consciousness. Find a link to join our closed Facebook group at allysonscammell.com or in the show notes. Today I’m talking to Sherris Shank. She is a psycho spiritual hypnotherapist based in Birmingham, Michigan in the United States. She is also the author of Peace of Mind Blueprint. Sherris specializes in emotional healing and spiritual growth, working with local clients in person and international clients via Zoom.

[00:05:13] Her greatest joy is witnessing clients heal their wounds. Develop new empowering beliefs and embrace a life they adore. I had an absolute blast speaking with Sherris and getting hypnotized by Sherris. May you receive as much from her wisdom as I did. Please enjoy. 

[00:05:39] Hi, Sherris. Welcome to Soul Guide Radio. Thank you, Allison. It’s such a enormous pleasure to be here. Yay! So, we’re talking about hypnosis. Yes, we are. And I am so excited. So, share with us, when did you first stumble upon hypnosis and say, this is something I want to add to my repertoire of things I do? Well, I had a period of big Medical issues, that were actually a wake up call, but, it was about 15 months of recuperation, and during that time, all I could do was read and sleep.

[00:06:21] So, one day, I was cruising the internet, and I I stumbled on an article about hypnosis in psychology today, and something in me just like stood at attention, and I kept thinking, you know, if I had had hypnosis in the hospital, everything would have been different because I would have been able to accept what was happening to me, and get calm, and I was not able to accept what was happening to me, and I fought everybody.

[00:06:54] Had I had hypnosis, That wouldn’t have happened. I would have just gotten peaceful and been able to move into healing, so I started to, research hypnosis, follow links, and eventually I realized that the only state licensed school that teaches hypnotherapy was 45 minutes from my house. Oh my goodness.

[00:07:23] And I thought, okay, I have to do this. So, that’s, I had never even thought of hypnosis up until then, but I really feel like I was led to it. It was like there were breadcrumbs that I followed. And can you tell us what is it exactly? What is hypnosis? Yeah. What is it? I mean, I, I think we all understand it on the surface, but let us go in a few levels deeper.

[00:07:50] What’s really going on when we’re hypnotized? What’s really going on when you’re hypnotized is you have relaxed enough that you can talk to your subconscious mind because the way you go into hypnosis is by changing your brainwave state and you change your brainwave state. By relaxing and we all change our brainwave states all day long.

[00:08:15] We’re just not aware of it. So you and I are in our conscious mind. That’s a beta brainwave state. Then there’s an alpha brainwave state. That’s the bridge between subconscious and conscious. Then there’s Theta, which is. Full subconscious mind and it’s the brainwave we are all in just before we go to sleep and just as we wake up.

[00:08:40] And when people are in hypnosis, they’re floating between Theta, Alpha, Theta, Alpha, Theta, Alpha and They reach that inner sanctuary where they can look at what’s going on. They can see it, but they feel detached. And so they’re able to make choices. That are simply not available to them in their conscious mind.

[00:09:09] That’s so cool. When I was in college, I went to a hypnotist and he did this, you know, he brought people up on stage and it was totally hysterical. So it’s like, what, what, what, you know, I think a lot of people have seen something similar to that. So, I mean, like, is that the same thing? He just, like, gets people really relaxed and then suggests that they start, you know, braying like a donkey and then people start doing it.

[00:09:36] Like, how does that work? Well, here’s the thing. I am very easy to hypnotize and you wouldn’t get me to do that on a stage, no matter who the hypnotist was, because that would violate one of my core values. Which is, it would be violating my sovereignty and right to choose. Right, yeah. I remember being like a 20 year old kid thinking, There’s something strange about this.

[00:10:01] So here’s, here’s how that works. Stage hypnosis is for entertainment. Right, right. And they’re very good at picking the people who like to be seen. I am your classic introvert. I don’t want to be seen in front of an audience like that, so they would never pick me. They would never pick me.

[00:10:25] They usually do some things in the beginning to see how hypnotizable people are. And then they read the audience and they pick people who want to come up, who view it as coming up and having fun. It’s funny you should say that, because that’s 100 percent my brother. He loves to be seen. He loves to entertain.

[00:10:44] He’s very extroverted and very, like, confident on stage. And they chose him. Yep, absolutely, because he would enjoy it. He loved every minute of it. And I think he was even like hamming it up in his hypnosis. Well, you know, if he felt really freed, then he could do that. Yeah. But a million dollars says you would never ever get me up there.

[00:11:11] Yeah.

[00:11:12] So, stage hypnosis is for entertainment. Okay. Therapeutic hypnosis is for healing. Healing. Got it. I’m glad. That’s like a really, like, that clears it up so much for me. Because I always wondered, like, how does this work? Okay. I have been to a hypnosis, for healing. And I can be also hypnotized really fast.

[00:11:35] Would you hypnotize me? Right now.

[00:11:38] Really? Yeah, I want to, I just want to be funny. What was your, what would, what do you want out of it? See, you’ve got to tell me what you want or I, I, I can’t. Well, it’s kind of heavy. It’s not heavy for me, but it’s gonna sound heavy. Okay. Um, because you know me I’ve done loads and loads and loads of healing.

[00:11:57] So But I have this annoying one that appears in my life in Odd places and that’s no need to go into detail. But the the thought the thought is I don’t fear dying, because I’ve already died and came back to life. No fear there. But, I have this thing, and it’s coming from past lifetimes and all that stuff.

[00:12:21] Um, I fear a long violent death. You fear a long, violent death. Yes, and it doesn’t keep me up at night. but it just pops up in annoying ways in my life. And I just want to, like, zap it. Like, I don’t want to, like, have this, this. Give me an example of when it pops up. Turbulence on a flight.

[00:12:47] Oh, okay. It’s going to be a long, because we’re up in the air 30, 000 feet. And it’s going to be a long fall. You know, to the ground and, , yeah. Okay. All right. Close your eyes. Yes, that’s good. Take another deep belly breath and make your exhale twice as long.

[00:13:17] Good. Now take a moment to be present with your breath to really pay attention to your breath. You might notice if it’s. Warm or cool. Short or long. Shallow or deep. Without any effort to change it, just noticing.

[00:13:54] And then you might also notice the ease of your breath. How your breath breathes you day in and day out, without you having to do anything at all.

[00:14:14] And if it feels right to you, you could send your breath some love, some gratitude. For being as easy and reliable as it is.

[00:14:38] Good. Then turn your awareness to the beating of your heart.

[00:14:47] Really tuning into your heartbeat.

[00:14:56] Noticing its rhythm and how familiar you are with that rhythm.

[00:15:05] Noticing if you can hear your heart.

[00:15:11] And feeling it, consciously feeling your heart beat. And

[00:15:24] then just for a moment, pretend or imagine that you can breathe through your heart as if your heart were a third lung, inhaling through your heart,

[00:15:48] exhaling through your heart.

[00:15:55] And as you breathe through your heart, give yourself permission to receive your heart’s gifts.

[00:16:11] The love,

[00:16:17] profound compassion,

[00:16:24] eternal acceptance,

[00:16:30] and allow your own heart’s gifts to circulate through your body,

[00:16:42] really feeling

[00:16:46] that love, compassion, and acceptance,

[00:16:57] and then imagine your heart Opening like a flower, imagine your heart slowly opening petal by petal and coming into full bloom, completely safe, completely protected, really able to blossom

[00:17:37] and ask your heart This question,

[00:17:44] is this fear of a long, violent death serving me? No. Your reaction is no. Thank you. Okay. So, knowing that, imagine yourself on an airplane experiencing turbulence. And this fear of a long, violent death. Raises its head again.

[00:18:31] But this time, instead of buying into that fear, you welcome it. You say, Hello, my friend. We know each other well.

[00:18:52] And allow yourself just to be present with it.

[00:19:00] And begin to have a conversation with this fear.

[00:19:07] Are you from this life? No.

[00:19:15] Do you want to be here now? No. Okay.

[00:19:29] So here’s the thing. All fears are meant to surface. It’s just your subconscious mind trying to protect you. So thank this fear for its service.

[00:19:51] Embrace it.

[00:19:55] I am so grateful for all the ways you have served me.

[00:20:03] And I release you. You are free to go now.

[00:20:15] Just let me know by nodding your head when you feel that fear has completely dissolved into the light and sound

[00:20:28] where it will be recycled. Into positive energy. It’s done its job.

[00:20:42] Good. Now, stay on that plane for a moment

[00:20:51] and allow yourself to become aware that the stewards and stewardesses on the plane actually like these bumpy flights because they get to sit down.

[00:21:08] It’s a reward for them

[00:21:14] and that all of the turbulence It’s actually very small movements of the airplane

[00:21:26] and that the pilot knows how to handle it.

[00:21:34] That’s what he or she does. It’s paid for.

[00:21:43] They’ll bring the plane up a little bit or they’ll drop the plane down a little bit to get into less turbulent air.

[00:21:58] And allow yourself to feel confident,

[00:22:05] calm,

[00:22:10] really. Relax.

[00:22:17] Until you find yourself actually enjoying the ride.

[00:22:26] It’s just a ride. That’s all it is.

[00:22:33] And you

[00:22:37] have no need to be in control of it.

[00:22:48] Send some gratitude to the pilots and the staff. And

[00:23:02] allow yourself to be the happy, silly person. You love to be

[00:23:18] all is well.

[00:23:22] All is very, very well.

[00:23:28] And just nod when you feel this is complete.

[00:23:34] Good.

[00:23:39] So,

[00:23:43] thanking all of the staff and the pilot. Enjoying the view. Enjoying being able to be silly and fun. Bring that all back with you and share it with your conscious mind as you very gently allow your consciousness. To rise invite sensation back into your body,

[00:24:20] tune into your breathing, and your heartbeat,

[00:24:30] and when you are ready. Open your eyes. Ah,

[00:24:41] ooh, that was amazing.

[00:24:48] That was really amazing, Sherris. Could you, could you see that fear? Could you feel that fear for what it was? Yes, and the metaphor of the fear, or the fear, appeared visually to me as a dragonfly. Sometimes, you know, fears are like monsters or serpents. I love dragonflies, but it just, it just appeared as a dragonfly.

[00:25:16] And then, when it flew away. What eventually replaced it was I was on the plane and there were all these like rainbows and flowers, almost like a psychedelic, you know, no drugs involved, but this like sort of flower power, kind of from the 70s, like rainbows and flowers. And then instead of dragonflies, there were butterflies.

[00:25:40] Oh, see the subconscious mind will always give you exactly what you need. Because the main imperative of the subconscious mind is to keep you alive. Number one. Number two, protect you. And it’s been protecting you through a lot of lifetimes from this fear. From this premonition, whatever it was. And it had outlived its usefulness.

[00:26:09] And a lot of times those things get stuck and they really don’t want to be there anymore.

[00:26:13] Yeah, this was a nit noity. I’m not surprised it appeared as an insect, even though it was an insect, I love. Because it was just kind of like buzzing around me as an annoyance. Like, this is just annoying. It was ready to go. It was saying to you, I want to go. Definitely. So that was a really amazing process.

[00:26:35] I felt myself. Get into a meditative state, but it felt heavier, like in a good way, like good, heavy, like I was deep inside of myself. But can you explain the difference between deep meditation and being hypnotized? Is there a difference? And if so, what is it? Well, they’re cousins. They’re cousins. Yeah. So the main difference is the purpose.

[00:27:01] The purpose of hypnotherapy is healing, and it’s very difficult, even though I know self hypnosis and use self hypnosis, it’s very difficult to guide yourself through healing because you still need your conscious mind. So that feeling of heaviness is caused from going into a theta wave, which makes the body think it’s going to go to sleep.

[00:27:25] And at that point, your brain starts emitting a chemical that makes it hard for you to move. So we don’t all sleepwalk.

[00:27:33] That’s interesting. Yeah. And then when you come out of it, the brain is like, Oh, you don’t need that chemical anymore. And the heaviness evaporates.

[00:27:46] So can you tell us why the subconscious mind is so vital to the healing process?

[00:27:52] Well, the subconscious mind is 90 percent of our mind. 90%. The conscious mind, which believes it runs the show, is 10 percent of our mind. And our conscious mind is gifted at problem solving and planning. But the subconscious mind is where all our fears live, all our desires live, all our memories live, all our creativity lives.

[00:28:21] And the conscious mind can’t reach it.

[00:28:23] The only way to reach your subconscious mind that I know of is by changing your brainwave state. And once you get into a theta state, that’s your powerhouse. That is your powerhouse. And interestingly enough, when we sleep we go down to delta, but when we dream we come back to theta. And then go back down to delta when the dream is over.

[00:28:47] Theta is the powerhouse. You can make any change you want to in Theta.

[00:28:53] It just means that your subconscious mind believes the change will not threaten you. Once the subconscious mind believes that, it will shift, and you’ll start getting different signals.

[00:29:09] This is so interesting. So, what then happens, what do you tell your clients post session? Let’s say they have a fear of getting stung by a bee. What would you tell your clients to do post session if they’re doing a hike through the forest and they encounter a beehive? 

[00:29:29] What I tell people is that it’s very deep work, and you have to be a little bit patient with your subconscious mind. I always give them a recording of the hypnosis, and I ask them to listen to it, and then I tell them that their job is simply to allow the subconscious mind to shift and notice the changes, and to give themselves two or three days And then they’ll start feeling the changes and the changes takes it takes some time to integrate it takes time to integrate because it’s really big change in the subconscious mind is really set on its mission to protect you so it doesn’t change without the belief that you are not threatened.

[00:30:20] So I would say don’t walk in the woods for three days. Right. Interesting. And when you see a beehive just notice. So

[00:30:36] when we change from the conscious mind down, it’s all about understanding, inspiration, and willpower. But when you change from the subconscious mind up, it’s all about allowing the subconscious mind to shift and noticing the new messages. No willpower involved. You don’t have, you don’t have to force anything.

[00:31:00] In fact, that just gets in the way. So, you know, my clients who are real heavy doers, that’s hard for them. They want to do something. Control. So I tell them, listen to the recording.

[00:31:15] So interesting. We need to have a lot more respect for our subconscious mind because it actually runs our life.

[00:31:22] The conscious mind takes its marching orders from the subconscious mind, even though it doesn’t believe that. Right. Yeah. That’s why, like, when I help clients with my healing that I do, it’s so important to rewrite the stories and rewrite the stories that are coming in. And usually when you do the healing, it’s like you say, it auto rewrites the stories in the subconscious mind that gets sent up.

[00:31:52] But it’s really important to sort of, ground those new stories in. So that in an image and a feeling, yes, because the languages of the subconscious mind are images, emotions, symbols, stories, and repetition and metaphor. Those are the languages of the subconscious mind. Say that again. Say that again. I might say them in a different order.

[00:32:23] So images, emotions. Symbols, metaphors, story, and repetition.

[00:32:32] Think of how you learn something. You do it over and over and over. That’s the repetition that the subconscious mind likes. So if you tell yourself 10 million times, I’m no good, your subconscious mind believes it. Because you’ve repeated it with emotion so often. But if you tell yourself 10 million times, I am a divine light.

[00:32:55] I’m here to do good. I shine in the world. I lift people up. If you say that 10 million times, your subconscious mind believes. Repetition is powerful.

[00:33:09] Do you go through these, this subconscious analysis in your book? And I’d like to talk about your book, The Peace of Mind Blueprint. I do. I do. I wrote that book specifically for people who were considering hypnotherapy. And maybe we’re on the fence or just sort of like, well, is it woo woo? Is it magic? Is it what?

[00:33:34] What is it? Like the questions you asked me at the beginning. What is this with stage hypnosis? What’s that about? So I wrote it for those people and I go into a lot of Explanation about the subconscious mind, and I tell a lot of stories from my life, from my clients lives, and I give them access to recordings so that they can experience it.

[00:34:00] It’s interesting because I did a consultation with a client. This weekend, and she said when she read my book, and she realized that she couldn’t actually reach her subconscious mind. It was like the missing puzzle piece fell in because she had been trying and most of my clients fall into that category.

[00:34:20] They’ve been trying and trying and trying.

[00:34:23] And why did you focus on peace of mind when you wrote the book? The book is called The Peace of Mind Blueprint. I focused on peace of mind because that’s actually what every single person who comes to me wants. They come to me because something is torturing them. Something is haunting them. Something just won’t let go of them.

[00:34:44] Or they come to me because they’re stuck or lost. And what they want is relief from that pain, and they want to feel peaceful. They’re tired. They’re tired of being in pain, of being lost, of not being able to move forward. So, some people actually say that, most people don’t, but that’s what they actually want.

[00:35:12] Yes, yes, yes. And Charis, we’ll start wrapping up this episode here in a minute, and I have just loved this, and thank you so much, , for doing a mini hypnosis on me, although it didn’t feel mini, I just, I don’t know, it just came to me and I thought, what better way to teach listeners, about hypnosis than it, to do a case study or, An example of it.

[00:35:36] But I would just love to know, like, what do you love most about hypnosis and hypnotherapy? Oh, well that’s easy. I never get tired of watching people free themselves from pain and old beliefs and move into a life that they love. Never get tired of people coming back to me and saying, I didn’t believe this was possible.

[00:36:05] It’s just to watch somebody blossom in front of your eyes. is my greatest payment. Amazing. Amazing. So listen, I know a lot of listeners are going to want to get a hold of your book and learn what you share us. How can they get a hold of your book and connect with you? And wait, sorry, hello. One pause on that question.

[00:36:31] I forgot to ask you to please leave our listeners with an invitation. Oh, oh, my invitation is. To trust your curiosity, it’s leading you in a direction you want to go. Curiosity is an absolutely neutral emotion, and you can trust it. And if your curiosity is leading you towards hypnotherapy, feel free, do your research.

[00:36:58] And a great way to do that is in my book, but there’s lots of other ways. And trust yourself, trust yourself, you’ll be okay. And I just want to say, I think as part of your curiosity, you should get your hands on Sherris’s book. I have downloaded the Kindle version myself, and I am like, now when you are going through those images, metaphors, stories, repetitions, symbols, I’m like, I got to learn this for my own work with my own clients.

[00:37:26] This is good. This is gold. So I’m going to be reading her book and I really highly recommend if you’re resonating at all with this. You know, download it, buy it on Amazon or wherever it is. We’ll leave a link in the show notes. The book is called The Peace of Mind Blueprint. And Sherris, how else can our listeners find you?

[00:37:46] Well, they can go to my website. Which is birmingham clinical hypnotherapy.com. There’s a big box right on the middle of the first page where we’ll send you to the book or you can go right to the piece of mind blueprint.com. And there’s a place you can buy the book there, and that’s also where they will go to get the recordings.

[00:38:12] So there’s a couple of recordings that they can get from the book. Anything else, Sherris? Well, if they send me an email, to Sherris, S H E R R I S dot B E [email protected].

[00:38:35] I will send you a recording of my self-compassion process, which I don’t know anybody who doesn’t need. Ooh, I love it. So we will leave the link to Sherris’s email in the show notes. Send her an email. Just say, Hey, I heard you on Soul Guide Radio and she will send you this self compassion process. That’s beautiful.

[00:38:59] Sherris, thank you so much for hypnotizing me today. You are a genius at it and for sharing your wisdom on Soul Guide Radio. Oh, thank you, Allison. It’s a joy to be here. 

[00:39:19] That’s a wrap for this week. Thank you so much for tuning in. I am so grateful for you each and every week. Be sure to hit subscribe wherever it is you listen to Soul Guide Radio. And as always, until next time, may your soul guide the way. 

[00:39:35] Hi, dear ones. Listen here. The soul blueprint certification program is a road map to becoming a more powerful coach, healer, writer, artist, or entrepreneur, and then earning more money. It’s the only certification program that reveals how to activate your five unique spiritual gifts. So you can create massive soul aligned success in life and business.

[00:40:05] Learn more and enroll at allisonsgaml. com forward slash soul blueprint, or if enrollment is closed, you can join the soul list. So you’ll be the first to know when the next cohort is opening up and you’ll also be eligible to receive special high value bonuses. Again, that’s allisonsgaml. com forward slash soul blueprint.

00:00 Introduction

02:56 Meet Sherris Shank

04:49 Understanding Hypnosis

11:35 Live Hypnosis Session

26:46 Post-Hypnosis Discussion

27:46 The Power of the Subconscious Mind

33:14 Sherris’s Book: The Peace of Mind Blueprint

35:15 Invitation