... Trance Manila: Hypnotherapy Clinic in the Philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist,

I was a psychology student at the University of the Philippines when I got introduced to the concept of the subconscious mind.  But only in the 1990s did I learn about hypnotherapy and NeuroLinguistic Programming as ways of communicating with and working on the subconscious.

In the 1990s, I studied under 3 luminaries in the field of hypnotherapy:  They were:

1. Atenean Jesuit Fr. Jaime Bulatao, pioneer of Ericksonian hypnotherapy in the Philippines, 
2. Dr. Harry Lorenzo, professor of classical hypnotherapy at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and 
3. Dr. Imelda Villar, pioneer of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in the Philippines.    

Fr. Jaime Bulatao, Dr. Harry Lorenzo, and Dr. Imelda Villar

I was such an eager student of hypnotherapy that I took up further studies in Ericksonian hypnotherapy and in the year 2000, I co-founded the Milton H. Erickson Institute of the Philippines (MHEIP).  Shortly thereafter, I started offering training workshops on the art and science of Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Ericksonian psychotherapy.

In the recent month, I was exceedingly pleased to learn about Trance Manila, a group of professional hypnotherapists and NLP practitioners who help people recover from addictions, low self-esteem, weight issues, insomnia, phobias, and stress.  Headed by Dr. Strix Toledo and Jason Principe, I quickly sought them out and pleaded with them to do introductory lectures on hypnotherapy and NLP to the batch of Life Coaches I was then training.  

Dr. Strix Toledo

Dr. Strix is a medical practitioner specializing in pain management, integrative medicine, and osteopathy.  Dr. Strix delivered a stream-of-consciousness talk on maintaining a "high quality of mind" by making the conscious mind "just shut the 'F' up!"  The Life Coach trainees were simply entranced as they listened to Dr. Strix babble his hypnotic monologue.  At the end of Dr. Strix' talk, everyone was relaxed and energized. And what was more surprising was that up until the very end of the workshop, the Life Coach trainees were still feeling light and calm and still talking among themselves about operating from a "high quality of mind."

Dr. Strix Toledo with the Life Coach trainees

Sir Jason Principe

As for Sir Jason Principe, he is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner.  He did a demonstration using a dramatic "look-me-in-the-eye" hypnotic induction on one of the Life Coach trainees who instantly sunk into a deep trance.  Sir Jason also divulged never-been-revealed secrets on how the "budol-budol" gang uses hypnosis to cash in on their unsuspecting victims.  At the end of Sir Jason's talk, it seemed like the Life Coach trainees became more inspired to become "budol-budol" gang members than to be Life Coaches.

Sir Jason Principe with the Life Coach trainees

The Life Coach trainees and I got more than what we bargained for by inviting Dr. Strix and Sir Jason.  Thank you very much to both of you.  We are extremely grateful that in the brief lectures you delivered, you reminded us of the limitless potential of our subconscious mind, a limitless potential just waiting to be tapped.  

... TV5 Reaksyon: Miley Cyrus liberates her Inner Tramp ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

Oh wow, whatever happened to "our" baby Miley Cyrus?  We watched her grow up from a "cute li'l thang" to a "sweet 'n' pretty li'l thang."  She was the daughter, sister, or girlfriend everyone wanted to have, until that viral video of her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards shattered our squeaky clean image of her.

No, Miley Cyrus didn't transform into the raging Incredible Hulk.  Instead, she transformed into a twerking Incredible 'Ho.'  What could have come over Miley Cyrus that made her liberate the "Tramp Within?"

First of all, let's not forget that she's 'celeb,' and many celebs are just darn hungry for fame, attention, and adulation.  After her onstage performance at the MTV VMA, Miley even bragged that she received more tweets than the Superbowl.  Duh, okay, so she got the tweets she wanted.

Connected with being a celeb is her history as a 'child star.'  Child stars grow up feeling like the world revolves around them.  They get addicted to being treated like little baby gods-- 'godlets,' I call them.  But as they get older and as their stardom fades, they experience withdrawal symptoms from their diminishing popularity.  And just like drug addicts who'll get their fix by hook or by crook, aging child stars will resort to anything, even cheap scandalous behaviors just to get their fix of fame, through acts of shame.

Let's consider too the goody-goody image that stereotyped Miley Cyrus.  The pressure on her to 'act good' and 'be good' for her fans could have gotten too stifling or suffocating for her.  Naturally, when you're bound by rope from head to foot, you want to cut loose.  Well, not only did she let the ropes fall off, but her clothes as well.  As if twerking onstage wasn't immodest enough, she had to twerk onstage clad only in granny-type rubber underwear.  This vulgar act completely deletes the few remaining images of a pristine Miley Cyrus that we've stored in our memory banks.

Hmm, what else could have accounted for her trashy dancing?  Genes, perhaps?  After all, scientific studies report that the predisposition for lewdness can run in families.  Or how about the effect of alcohol and drugs on her personality?  Don't tabloids tell us how she's been spotted in the drug scene here and there?

This one thing is clear:  In that MTV Video Music Awards night, Miley Cyrus' act of notoriety made Madonna and Lady Gaga look like 12th century cloistered nuns.  As soon as the brouhaha about her twerking dies down, Miley Cyrus will need a more lewd, more rude, and more vulgar shocker-of-an-act to outdo the cheap stunt that she just pulled. 

Hey, why the heck does she do that with her tongue? Nasty as it looks, some stars have actually caught on to this tongue wagging craze:

Barrack Obama

Michelle Obama

Justin Bieber

Jackie Chan and Will Smith

Kanye West

Selena Gomez and friend

Oprah Winfrey

One Direction

me with the TV5 Reaksyon crew

... tv5 Reaksyon: male vanity: macho men with 'kikay' kits ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

Looking through an evolutionary perspective, male vanity serves a biological purpose.

Firstly, by being vain, men attempt to look good in order to feel good about themselves.  If they like what they see in the mirror, then they feel more confident to swag and strut themselves around women and vie for the status of "alpha male" around guys of a lower caste.

Secondly, by being vain, men attempt to look good in order to attract women.  Because the more women swarm around them, the more opportunities there are for procreation to take place, thus ensuring the continued propagation of the human species.

Although vanity is biologically wired into the male system, the standards for "male attractiveness" is what differs across time and cultures.  In the redneck culture for instance, male attractiveness might mean a bearded face, rough skin, pungent body odor, and soil-blackened toenails.  

For today's metrosexuals however, male attractiveness refers to an androgynous appearance wherein males attempt to look more "male pretty" than "macho handsome."

androgynous boy: justin bieber

androgynous boy: zac efron

One factor that reinforces metrosexual vanity is, of course, media.  Through media, the cosmetic industry preys on the insecurities of men and influences men on how they should look.  Media manipulates males to become narcissistically obsessed with their looks.

Male vanity will always be here to stay.  And just like the vain fisherman featured on the TV5 Reaksyon episode, don't be surprised to find construction workers, farmers, and policemen carrying their 'kikay' kits to work.

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me with the TV5 Reaksyon crew