... 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.