While myths, as vehicles for conveying wisdom, have been around since the beginning of human history, the therapeutic use of metaphor -- the subtly structured "story with a message" -- is a more recent development.

Remember when you learned to drive a car? Didn't you need to know some basics about the car's equipment? Maybe you didn't need to know specifically how the fuel injectors interact with the fuel pump. But you at least had to understand that the gas pedal gets you moving.

I had heard about hypnosis for a lot of things, but dental pain? Yes, I found out that hypnosis and dentistry (amongst other medical practices) does have a connection.

The following is one in a conversation between Trudy Goodman, Ph.D., Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. and Steven D. Hickman, Psy.D. for an upcoming retreat entitled "Mindfulness in Psychotherapy."

There is clearly something to be said for a more mindful state while one is eating. Choking is almost always caused by a wandering mind during an internal dialogue.

Very few psychological terms have quite the emotional impact that "hypnosis" does. All sorts of beliefs surround the concept, most of which have little to do with what hypnosis actually is.

What I'm after isn't flexible bodies, but flexible brains -- Moshe Feldenkrais For an obsessive swimmer who craves the endorphins, the past two years...

We are accustomed to identifying with every large or small thought that comes along. But you can train yourself to identify as the sky instead.

Guided imagery is the lazy man's meditation (or woman's). It's a kind of deliberate, directed daydreaming, using soothing music and narrated suggestions designed to calm, empower, heal and nourish.

Language is important. Our actions follow our thoughts. Your first step to healthy living may well be to simply listen to your words, the phrases that you spin and then, if need be, stop and rewrite them.

I've amplified something that the Sigmund Freud espoused over a century ago. Namely people in love, in deep love, have a pretty similar relationship to people who are under hypnotic influence.

There is remarkable power in telling your story. Director Heather Ross demonstrates this in her excellent film Girls on the Wall, which screened recently and will be seen on PBS stations in the coming months.