Is Oprah Hypnotizing You?

Is Oprah not the best and most master hypnotist ever?

I am coming to you 'live' from Kripalu Yoga & Health where I am leading the most remarkable and enlightening workshop ever (No doubt about it! Testimony to follow at the end of the week!) entitled Into the LITE: The Hypnosis Diet for Health, Wellness & Weight Loss; wherein we have explored the possibility that Oprah is, indeed, hypnotizing us!

While discussing the in's and out's of hypnosis, the how of it and the various types of hypnosis, I'd sited Oprah as an excellent example of someone who uses 'direct' hypnosis (vs. a more permission based, indirect style) very effectively. An example of 'indirect' hypnosis is: "As you become more and more comfortable, you might consider ... " vs. the direct route: "You will."

Think about it ... Is Oprah not the best and most master hypnotist ever? After all, when Oprah says, "This book will change your life. Buy it!" you do!

One of the participants in this workshop thought that Suzie Orman might also possess some of these same hypnotic talents. She looks at the screen, points directly at you and bellows out, "My newest book is my best yet. Buy it!" And you do.

Having said that, there's nothing wrong with what they are doing. Their intent is to help you, as they are 'selling' genuine, authentic and high quality goods. Further, I seriously doubt they would say that they are hypnotizing you (but they are embedding commands, are they not?)

We all agreed, as we veered off the weight loss charts, straight into financial matters. Said participant then offered a Suzie anecdote, "When a caller dialed into her show inquiring whether or not they should buy a big ticket item even though they were in debt," Suzie said in her strong, persuasive and hypnotic tone, "Can you afford it?"

How is it, I wondered aloud (skillfully bringing us back to weight loss) that we have no problem asking ourselves when shopping for big ticket items or small ticket items, "Can I afford this?" Particularly in these 'tight' (like my prom dress from the '70s) times, we exercise our 'say no to spending' muscles and say, "No. And I'll hold off on spending!"

What stops you from asking this question when it comes to food? When you consider the serious ramifications of overeating; from self-loathing to heart disease and diabetes, I am now pointing my finger at you and roaring! (Can you hear me roar?) CAN YOU AFFORD IT? Well, can you?

The next time you reach for the brownie, the donut, the extra serving of fries, remember to as yourself "Can I afford this?" And if the answer is "no," back off buddy and let it go! Say "No!" with conviction. Feel it. Remind yourself of the consequences. Imagine that you have the same amount of influence over you that Oprah or Suzie has.

Spread the 'hypnotic' word...not the icing!

Janice Taylor is the author of Our Lady of Weight Loss and All Is Forgiven, Move On.
Visit Janice Taylor, Beliefnet Blog.

Janice LIVE at Omega Holistic Institute

"Janice Taylor is a certain kind of kooky genius." ~ O, the Oprah Magazine
"mindful eating in humorous yet earnest style . . . ." ~ the New York Times.

Comments

[vfayes]

Janice, I think you're brilliant. Love your idea of applying Suze Orman's "Can I afford it?" schtick to eating. Of course, I always come up with justifications for why I CAN afford it. I'm going to write up a list of reasons why I can't and read them to myself when the justifications begin.

For the record, I am an avid Oprah watcher. She often annoys me, but most of her shows are interesting. And frankly, I think it's pretty cool that a woman like her, one with such a good heart and desire to change the world for the better, has so much power and influence. Good on ya, Oprah!

[Claudia D'Arcy]

Nope.. Not Oprah.
In fact she just annoys me to death because.. as a woman who has this super power in the media, and despite MANY attempts by MANY birthmothers, Oprah refuses to acknowledge the loss and grief experinced by birthmothers who have lost their children to adoption.
Over year ago she wanted to hear from mothers who had expienced infant loss from death, and we organized and all wrote in our stories.. and she ignored us.
She could be the media ticket to get this crazy country to allow adult adoptees to have access to their original birth certificates, but no.. she ignores adoptees too.

I'll keep on ignoring Oprah until she stop ignoring the 6 million American adoptees that are discriminated against and their 10 million parents plus who are still feeling the long term effects of adoption relinquish­ment..

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Claudia,
My daughter is adopted and we (the entire family) marched for open records some years ago.
It's a terrible loss ... for the birth mother and for the adoptee. They deserve to know each other about themselves.

Thanks for writing.
Janice

[ESerafina42]

Actually, if Oprah promotes something, while it doesn't necessarily mean I'll avoid it like the plague (that would also be letting her telling me what to do), it's a definite point AGAINST that thing in my book. Especially cr@p like "The Secret."

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Interesting ... we feel that way about the Secret, but sooooo many bought it and into it.
Janice

[67bug]

Oh how I miss you, Phil Donahue...­.*sigh*

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Ah ... yes.

[jdw]

do you think our credit situation and our obesity problem are symptoms of the same underlying issue? if so, what's so wrong with our culture that we overindulge in every way - from borrowing to overeating to driving ridiculous SUVs

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

You make a good point. We are out of control, in more ways than one. Deep sighhhhh ... hoping that we turn it around.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

Mostly everything on Oprah's show from "The Secret" to Dr Phil and Dr Oz and "Mommy Warriors" and so forth....i­s all about the latest fad or woo she's discovered, with an occasional self-obsessed show based on her weight.

[JustDee]

Maybe I'm just naive, but isn't that what ALL media is in general? To suggest that many of us who do chose to watch Oprah (I do occasionally) do so without our own sense of perception and choice in tact is a bit of a grand assumption. I don't run to the store because Oprah mentions something. At best, I might be made aware of a new product I hadn't heard of before (Brand). But I don't buy what the tube tells me. I buy what I like or need. (These days almost entirely what I need with very little "what I like" sadly)

You can put anyone under a microscope and find fault - hell, its that American way. At least she seems to believe in much of what she presents to her audience. Do I always agree with her views (example: The Secret - interesting, but extremely over-rated. Pretty basic psychology to understand that if we surround ourselves with positive messages rather than negative, our thinking will change and thus ultimately our actions will change as well. So, SURPRISE - the secret? Garbage in/garbage out - good stuff in/good stuff out - at least in a general sense.) Nope. In general, the thing I appreciate about her most is her efforts to give back much of what she's gained from her celebrity. Cast whatever stones you like, but how many of us can say we would do the same or actually do the same in our own lives?

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Dear Just Dee,

I wasn't finding fault with Oprah. In fact, I said that she was a positive influence. And at the same time, I was merely relating an anecdote from my Kripalu class; regarding hypnosis style, and the bottom line of the article as "Can You Afford This?" regarding food choices, poor food choices in particular.

I am not casting stones; I am merely siting Oprah as a powerful example of someone who unknowingly possesses great hypnotic talents. As do I. I lead workshops in weight loss hypnosis and teach self-hypnosis. I am at Kripalu Yoga & Health in the Berkshires leading a workshop as write this; and going to Omega Holistic Institute shortly (in June).

For those of you who would be interested in going into YOUR 'lite'... contact me!
www.ourladyofweightloss.com

Spread the word ... NOT the icing!
Janice

[OtayPanky]

Let's be honest here.

Only women get hyponitzed by Oprah.

Men get hypnotized by other things.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

OtayPanky,

I get your point, and still ... there are some men, not the majority, but still some, who are hypnotized by Oprah ... :)

Platters of gratitude,
Janice

[OtayPanky]

The real issue is, of course, getting hypnotized, period.

Politicians, marketers, and persuaders of all stripes including Oprah) depend on the fact that most human beings can be easily manipulated by Jedi Knight sorts of powers.

Sometimes, the Jedi's are good guys (you obviously see Oprah in that category), and sometimes they're bad guys (like Hitler). A lot of the time they're just pitchmen, trying to sell you their crap of the day.

The process of individuation is a long, tough slog - and most people find it easier to be sheep. But that's the only reliable cure for our propensity to follow others, rather than following the call from within.

Generally speaking, the oprah-fication of society is NOT a good thing. Anyone who can by hypnotized to follow Oprah today, can just as easily be hypnotized to follow someone less benign tomorrow.

[KillTheMessenger]

Who is Oprah?

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Gee ... now there is a question!

Into the 'lite' ...
Janice

[KillTheMessenger]

No, seriously.­.. is Oprah a person of importance that I absolutely need to know about... like EInstein or Picasso?

:-)

[OtayPanky]

I liked it when Homer Simpson called her ORPAH.

[pinkfirefly]

Oprah is definitely given to Hyperbole in her recommendations. She has some good ones (recommendations) but I am not a blind follower. She's on occasion commented on her show that she "doesn't watch TV"- pretty sure that's what she says rather than "I watch very little TV". Now people being hypnotized by her saying THAT is an interesting concept.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

H Pinkfirefly,

Yes, I have heard Oprah say she does not watch TV, as well... interesting!!!
One might follow up with Oprah and ask, "Always? Never?" Quite the sweeping statement.
I'm delighted you fine my question an interesting concept.

Good to hear from you.
Deliciously yours,
Janice

[TJCole]

Oprahtized­....Opraht­izism...

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Clever.

[llisa]

I guess I'm not susceptible to hypnosis.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Good to know someone out there is doing their own thing.
Janice

[MerrieWay]

Being influenced by TV commercials and star-power affects our belief system and behavioral tendencies. Media-hypnosis falls into the realm of a pandemic addiction. Vance Packard back in the 60's, in his book "Status Seekers" warned viewers of the danger of becoming robotic, following others suggestion, rather than having the discrimination to act on our own, with gumption. The sublimals integrated in TV commericials, have been long ignored. And that begs the question of pharmasuedical drug commercials influencing and creating a drug addicted culture?
MerrieWay created "Media Smarts 4 Young Folks" (birth -8) a curriculum for youth, parents, and teachers that deconstructs media, teaching media literacy. We discovered monitoring children's TV viewing time helped eliminate the number of violent acts seen daily . By age nine, 750,000 violent acts will be seen by children watching three hours of TV daily. We advised checking with pre-schools to make sure TV wasn't the reliable baby-sitter.
Merrie Lynn Ross & MerrieWay echo, "Bring on the Oprahs', who positively influence. We need to clone her."

[Pamela King]

We are a nation full of hypnotized people who do allow television commercials, talk shows, news programs, and stars to influence and change our behavior and beliefs. If we are bombarded with messages we change our beliefs to what we are told to believe even when it goes against our own value system.
Whether you agree with cigarette smoking, same-sex marriage, or a vegeterian lifestyle vs. meat-- to name a few examples, the fact remains - if the picture box tells you it's good or bad you believe the box. Your views change because of television and what it tells you to believe.
We buy whatever the picture box is selling even though we can't afford it. The real question should be "How much is your soul worth?" - because that's the price we have to pay.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Pamela,

Very interesting commentary. One might ask, "Can my soul afford this?" And then choose their actions. Thank you.

Janice

[TheBlackCat]

I don't know that I consider the things she hawks as "high quality goods." I mean, what about "The Secret?" Millions of people have bought a book that in essense, tells you that you can simply wish your dreams into reality and wish your problems away!

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi TheBlackCat,

I'm kind of with you on that one. The Secret falls a bit short for me as well. One cannot just think positive thoughts and manifest what they want. There's planning involved; action steps, etc.!

Still, I hope that Oprah is sincere and authentic in her belief in the products that she 'hawks.'

Thanks for bringing up the Secret; another hypnotic event!

Janice

[SakinaHadi]

Hypnotism is the name of a phenomena. Those who are good at dealing with people have a talent at using it with or without knowing it.

Lol about buying food. We buy food while thinking about its taste, and our subconscious mind is always ready to provide us with a colorful preview of eating it. However, we can stop ourselves from buying clothes more easily because their benefits are not as easy to visualize, thus the desire to get them is not as pressing.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi SakinaHadi,
Interesting perspective on visualization!

Janice