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Dr. David Illig, Ph.D
Psychologist
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David Illig resides in Portland, Oregon where he divides his time between consulting in the legal world as a trial consultant and work in the area of self-improvement and personal healing. His self-improvement products integrate mind/body/spirit approaches. He conducts a limited practice of individual counseling and phone counseling after years of work in that area. His previous areas of specialty involved adult victims of child abuse, unconscious processes, medical psychology, mind-body interactions, habit change, marital and sexual issues, as well as general adult therapy for stress and depression. He currently works with individuals who are interested in deep learning and deep healing as well as coming to be in charge of the universe they create. |
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SOME HISTORY:
Dr. David Illig, the author and voice of the SuccessWorld Self-Hypnosis and Subliminal Learning Programs has been a licensed Psychologist since 1979. His Ph.D. was awarded by Penn State University. Some of his earliest graduate studies involved how our thinking (self-talk) influences both our behavior and feelings.
Hypnotic Learning
As his work with clients developed, he began to realize that much of the thinking and images that influenced people were not actually in their conscious awareness. These words, pictures, images, thinking, self-talk, rules, conclusions, memories, etc. etc., were actually operating out of conscious awareness. They were occurring at an unconscious level, not in conscious awareness. Imagine that the human brain is like 100 operating computers but only ten have screens so that you can see what they are doing and impacting. However, all of the computers are operating and sending output into the system. The computers without visible screens are strongly influencing people regardless of what is in awareness. Hypnosis was a means of observing and influencing what was occurring at both the conscious and unconscious level. That drew him to it as a viable tool.
Self-hypnosis was a means by which people could address their own inner minds. Thus began years of study into the various schools of hypnosis and study with a great number of master teachers. Milton Erickson, M.D., considered by many to be the most influential teacher in clinical hypnosis, was a very significant influence on his approach and view of hypnosis and hypnotic technique.
Dr. Erickson found that all humans are able to use hypnosis if the format is very flexible and adaptable to the individual. The concept of indirect hypnosis rather than directive or authoritative hypnosis makes hypnosis a viable tool for almost everyone. Stage hypnosis is usually a very direct method, which, although exciting and interesting, only works for a small percentage of people. This is the “Look into my eyes you are getting sleepy” version.
Dr. Erickson found that metaphors and stories that send the human brain/mind off to search for solutions and approaches that work for that individual work much better. He became famous for his teaching stories that worked on many levels, the surface level and many levels of unconscious underneath.
Dr. Illig has used the teachings of Milton Erickson and many of his peers and colleagues to create hypnosis patterns that allow the listener’s brain to both learn and search for new solutions, old solutions, and healthy solutions. These solutions work for the individual in their own special way. We might not even know exactly what a person is doing that works only that it works. The person themselves most likely will not know how their own unconscious is doing it, only that it is doing something, and doing it differently.
The teaching stories and metaphors in the SuccessWorld programs allow each listener’s brain to find pathways to change without feeling as if they are being ordered or commanded to do something. Direct orders are somewhat likely to bring out resistance rather than change. Suggestions that are more permissive will be listened, considered, and more likely followed by the unconscious. “You may wonder how your brain accomplished that success...” will be more effective than: “You will do it this way...”
The SuccessWorld hypnosis programs do give guidance to the brain/mind of the listener to seek out and use only healthy healing patterns and to let go of old unhealthy patterns. The suggestions do create boundaries that attempt to keep a person within safe areas. For example, the weight loss programs have multiple suggestions that will not allow the listener to lose weight to the point of being unhealthily thin. Healthy thin is ok. Sickly thin is not ok.
Subliminal Learning Process
After extensive work in the area of hypnosis, Dr. Illig sought other means to access the subconscious mind, the subconscious computers in every human. He began to review the area of subliminal process. Subliminal process basically means that information is presented to the brain that the conscious mind does not notice. These could be visual, like hidden words or images that the conscious mind usually misses, but the unconscious catches. The messages could be auditory, things we hear. A simple example is the voice that is at full volume but is not being noticed. Clearly part of the brain is hearing it. Another part of the brain is directing attention elsewhere. If we can get very positive messages into the brain without conscious awareness then these messages have the potential to influence our inner processes very effectively.
An example of a simple subliminal process is listening to a hypnotic tape or CD while reading a book and not paying attention to the audible program. Your brain can clearly hear the program, but your conscious attention is mostly on the reading. Thus, the hypnosis tape or CD becomes a subliminal program. The effects using this method are different than when using the hypnosis tape or CD by consciously following along through the hypnotic process.
Another way to turn an audible program into a subliminal program would be to go to sleep while the tape or CD plays. Part of the brain is still listening. However, you do not want to do this too loud or all night so that your sleep is disrupted. Consult your physician or therapist if you are unsure about your sleep patterns.
The Subliminal Learning tapes and CDs of SuccessWorld have a number of interesting features. The subliminal messages are all healthy and positive. They also direct the listener to make healthy use of the programs. The subliminal messages are controlled so that they get louder and softer depending on the volume of the music and nature sounds. The volume goes up and down just below the voice on the hypnotic tapes/CDs. During loud passages in the music or sounds the messages are actually quite loud. They are just masked within the other sound.
The messages are presented at a wide range of levels from soft to loud as well as in high numbers with an ongoing repeating echo.
Right- and left-brain messages
The SuccessWorld tapes and CDs have slightly different programs on the right channel versus the left channel. If you are using stereo headphones, you are getting slightly different messages into each ear. The reason for this is that we are somewhat cross-brained, that is messages going in one ear tend to impact more the opposite side of the brain. In addition, we also have a tendency to use the different sides of our brain differently. The right brain tends to process a certain thing one-way and the left-brain tends to process others things in other ways. The different channels make use of this capacity.
Because of the stereo messages, it is best to play programs on a stereo player. Headphones are ideal but not required. As long as you are using two speakers. You can, if necessary, still use the programs without stereo or headphones and obtain positive results. Stereo just works more effectively.
The subliminal messages are also addressed to different aspects of our inner psychology. There are very young minds and adult minds. There are brave minds and fearful minds, as well as, many other aspects of our being. We are made up of many parts. The goal is to help all of our parts work together as a healthy team. SuccessWorld subliminal programs are written in the LANGUAGE OF THE UNCONSCIOUS. This is quite different than talking to the conscious mind. The programs are written so that the unconscious can then help the conscious mind in the ways needed. Dr. Illig writes the programs with the understanding that humans are more complex than we appear.
Dr. Illig was and still is concerned that some other subliminal programs on the market seem to have little understanding of how the unconscious works and how it is different from the conscious mind. Humans are not as simple and logical as we would like to think and would like to pretend. Pretending we are simple does not help us get unstuck from where we do not want to be.
Even our problems can make sense from some perspective and we need special effort to let go of them. Letting go of problems is part of healing. As well as letting go of things that seem to work but do not. We need to be truly willing and able to let it go. At the same time, holding onto resources, skills and knowledge is another part of healing Healing is part letting go and part holding on. Your unconscious can know this while your conscious mind may have confusion around it and hold on to the wrong knowledge or let go of the wrong issue.
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