Dr. David Illig, Ph.D 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. His self-improvement products integrate mind/body/spirit approaches. He no longer does individual therapy after years of work in that area. His 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.
SOME HISTORY: Dr. David Illig, the author and voice of the SuccessWorld self hypnosis and subliminal 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 "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. 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 having an impact on. 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, healthy solutions. These are solutions that 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 won't know how their own unconscious is doing it. Only that it is.
The teaching stories and metaphors in the SuccessWorld tapes allow each listener's brain to find pathways to change without feeling like they are being ordered or commanded to do something. Direct orders are somewhat likely to bring out resistance rather than change. More "permissive" suggestions 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 healthy hea
