K.C. Wilder (author of the best-selling book 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR HUSBAND and a hypnosis client) graciously gave her permission to publish this entry from her blog. She is a successful author with a wonderful light wit and writes with candor about her journey. Hopefully you will identify with her struggle with sugar as well as the intoxicating form of sugar (alcohol). Also, she says some very kind things about me which I personally find worth re-reading from time to time. Click here for a link to Ms. Wilder’s book on amazon.com
John Koenig is a cool guy. For starters, there’s this snippet from his bio: “I have an undergraduate degree in psychology (Hofstra University, 1970) and a MA in Anglo-Irish Studies (University College, Dublin, Eire, 1971) and am a member of Rhode Island Mensa.”
Mensa. Yeah. Still waiting on my invitation.
Add to that the fact that he spent more than 20 years in advertising, learning how to quickly and concisely connect people with their desires – or at the very least, connect their desires to a product. Then chat with him. About anything. He’s easygoing, a natural conversationalist. If you’ve got a topic, he’s got an anecdote.
I first met John in March of 2011, when I went to see him for help kick-starting my pre-wedding weight loss plan. That I was even seeing a hypnotist seemed crazy to me (I told my then-fiance that Mr. Koenig was a nutritionist, lest he think he was marrying a new-agey nut job), but frankly, I’d always been curious as to whether or not hypnosis really worked, and I saw this as my chance to check it out. My goal was to give up alcohol and sugar until I lost 15 pounds, which I knew would not be easy. What the heck – a little hypnosis couldn’t hurt, right?
That night, I easily went to bed without a drink or a sugary snack. In the days that followed, I was amazed at how effortless it was to commit to my new diet. I didn’t feel deprived. In fact, I felt satisfied and optimistic.
My focus was anywhere but on my diet. But later, in hindsight, I thought about it.
Resisting sugar was no problem in the days and weeks after my father passed; I could barely stand to eat at all. But how many people offered me a drink? How many assured me there was no shame in abandoning my new diet plan under such circumstances? How many said that certainly I deserved a drink to take the edge off, to bring sleep, even to toast my father’s memory?
I passed.
Time and again, I passed without a second thought. Something had happened to me in my very first hypnosis session, something that instilled my plan on a subconscious level and made choice a non-issue. I just wasn’t drinking. I wasn’t eating sugar. It didn’t matter what happened in my life. Those were just things I didn’t do.
And there’s his look: professional, maybe slightly rumpled, as if he’s been hard at work on a project. If you met him outside his office, you’d assume he works in business or finance.
But for more than a decade, his full-time occupation has been…well…hypnotism.
I first met John in March of 2011, when I went to see him for help kick-starting my pre-wedding weight loss plan. That I was even seeing a hypnotist seemed crazy to me (I told my then-fiance that Mr. Koenig was a nutritionist, lest he think he was marrying a new-agey nut job), but frankly, I’d always been curious as to whether or not hypnosis really worked, and I saw this as my chance to check it out. My goal was to give up alcohol and sugar until I lost 15 pounds, which I knew would not be easy. What the heck – a little hypnosis couldn’t hurt, right?
So there I found myself, in a comfortable chair, eyes closed, being talked through what felt very much like a guided meditation. There was no hokey pendulum, no carnival sideshow intonation: “you are getting sleepy…very sleepy…” It felt natural, organic. The only real indication I had of how deeply I’d gone under was when it was time to come back. I discovered my arms and legs had fallen asleep.
That night, I easily went to bed without a drink or a sugary snack. In the days that followed, I was amazed at how effortless it was to commit to my new diet. I didn’t feel deprived. In fact, I felt satisfied and optimistic.
Five months later – and a full 20 pounds lighter – I was downing wine and cake at my wedding. Having achieved my goal, I abandoned it. In fairly short order, the circuitry in my brain went back to the old wiring. And John Koenig acquired a repeat client.
I’ve been back to John for hypnosis a handful of times over the past couple of years. Hypnosis helped me find the focus and discipline to complete my fourth novel, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Husband, and helped me explore material for another novel. Most recently, I went to him for support in being alcohol-free in 2014. We had a great session, and he sent me on my way with the feeling of confidence I’ve come to associate with hypnotism. For the record: so far, so good.
Still, John makes it fairly difficult to become a “regular,” as he provides each client with a recording of their session, which makes it easy to do upkeep at home. This former ad man seems genuinely interested in selling only one thing these days: positive, lasting change.
Like I said, John Koenig is a cool guy. And I think it’s contagious. I’m getting cooler, too.