Through the Open Door: Secrets of Self-Hypnosis [Hardcover]

Kevin Hogan (Author), Mary Lee Labay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2000

"This should be a high-priority purchase." -Library Journal In a radical departure from other self-hypnosis and self-improvement books, internationally known hypnotherapists Kevin Hogan and Mary Lee LaBay contend that you can make lasting changes in your life by following simple, step-by-step blueprints for achievement, personal mastery, and emotional control. The authors share expertise gathered from a lifetime of research and successful therapeutic work to teach you how to improve IQ and memory, raise self-esteem, eliminate fear, control pain, and build lasting self-confidence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MARY LEE LaBAY is a graduate of the Ohio Academy of Holistic Health and a certified instructor of hypnotherapy. She is the founding president of the Lake Washington chapter of the National Guild of Hypnotists and founder of Awareness Engineering.

Kevin Hogan is a national public speaker and founder of Success Dynamics Foundation, a nonprofit organization that strives to teach schoolchildren about making correct choices about drug use. An expert on body language, he is sought after by the media and even has interepreted President Clinton's demeanor during a televised speech for the New York Post . He holds a doctorate of clinical hypnotherapy from American Institute of Hypnotherapy (Irvine, California) and a Ph.D. in metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology (Youngstown, Ohio). Dr. Hogan has a clinical hypnotherapy practice and sees clients daily. He resides in Eagan, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (August 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565547853
• ISBN-13: 978-1565547858
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Hogan is the author of nineteen books. He is best known for his international best selling book, The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking.

In the past decade he has become the Body Language Expert and Unconscious Influence Expert to ABC, Fox, The BBC, The New York Times, The New York Post and dozens of popular magazines like Forbes,Investors Business Daily, InTouch, First for Women, Success!, and Cosmopolitan. He has become the go-to resource for analyzing key White House figures.

Hogan has taught Persuasion and Influence at the University of St. Thomas Management Center and is a frequent media guest. Articles by and about him have appeared in Success!, Redbook, Office Pro,, Selling Power, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Playboy and numerous other publications. He was recently featured in a half dozen magazines (including wProst) in Poland.

Kevin is a dynamic, well-known international public speaker, consultant and corporate trainer. He has trained persuasion, sales and marketing skills to leaders in the government of Poland, employees from Mutual of Omaha, Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Cargill, Pillsbury, Carlson Companies, Fortis Insurance, Great Clips, the State of Minnesota, 3M, The United States Postal Service and numerous other Fortune 500 companies. He recently spoke to The Inner Circle and at the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT) convention in Las Vegas.

His keynotes, seminars and workshops help companies sell, market and communicate more effectively. His cutting edge research into the mind and keen understanding of consumer behavior create a unique distillation of information never before released to the public.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The next level in self hypnosis books, March 1, 2002

By 

Jennifer Holtzman (Waukegan, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through the Open Door: Secrets of Self-Hypnosis (Hardcover)

Through the Open Door: Secrets of Self Hypnosis is a passionately written book with two authors who obviously have a broad and deep background in the field.

In general this book works in the ways the authors intended.

Clearly this book is not your traditional self hypnosis book...and if you've ever heard the authors speak, you'll be surprised to find over a dozen scripts in the text.

Addressing the first point, you find the authors are familiar with and bow to models of hypnosis that have been put forward by Hilgard, Rossi and some of the current researchers of the field. This causes a problem and creates and opportunity. Many of the concepts in the early part of the text are not completely explained. Therefore if you are unfamiliar with current research in hypnosis you may be at a loss in some of the more advanced mind/brain technology involved.

On the other hand, what isn't explained early on is adequately dealt with in chapters of the book that don't address typical self hypnosis subjects. The authors seem comfortable tackling issues that you won't find in other self hypnosis books.

After a somewhat high brow description of hypnosis the authors wisely put a chapter on overcoming procrastination early in the book. This chapter works and the authors explain how they have overcome procrastination exclusively with self hypnosis. This chapter is among the strongest in the text.

Chapter Four is called, Fear No More, and I have some reservations about this chapter. I'm not certain the authors clearly define fear and fright for the non-academic reader. This chapter has good ideas, a wonderful meditation but it doens't work as well as it could have.

Self Esteem and Self Confidence is detailed next in a thoroughly brilliant chapter. The authors careful weave real life experience with trance work and this chapter is among the strongest in the book. The meditations in this chapter effective and very enjoyable.

Chapter Six is about making better decisions. This is another new breakthrough area for self hypnosis. Once again, I've never seen other authors tackle this subject and the writing duo does the challenge justice.

Chapter Seven (Attracting Special People into Your Life) reads passionately and swiftly. The method seems sound and the link with real life exercises to bring the self hypnosis work into real life is appreciated. This chapter was fun and the strongest chapter in the book.

Hypnosis for weight loss again combines self hypnosis with some solid real life strategies that blend into a winning combination. The meditation was very nice when I made my tape for this.

The chapter about pain relief, written by a colleague of the authors is a delight. Numerous strategies are provided that offer the person who suffers from chronic pain a great deal of hope.

Childbirth with hypnosis is something I have never thought of trying! That's discussed in some detail next by another contributor and I found it tantalizing. The confirming stories by other contributors, with their experiences of childbirth while using self hypnosis is compelling. I'd like to learn more about this.

The prosperity chapter is one of the most intense reads I've seen in a self hypnosis book. It didn't quite work for me because it requires some additional skills beyond self hypnosis (understanding fairly high level mathematics). Nevertheless, I did the meditation and plan to continue to do so.

Chapter Fourteen is about accelerated learning. The authors are obviously devotees of Lozanov and they regularly credit his model of learning. I found this to be a grand summary of learning strategies with trance and I think anyone...of any age would benefit from this chapter making it worth the price of admission.

The book closes with numerous contributors from all walks of life sharing about the variety of their self hypnosis experience.

What a delight. What a treat.

The book is well written, well researched, synthesizes numerous brain based learning models and except for the first two chapters (with no disrespect, they simply weren't as clear as they could have been) is readable by anyone with a high school education.

Five Stars

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have the keys!, March 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Through the Open Door: Secrets of Self-Hypnosis (Hardcover)

I just read Through The Open Door, by Mary Lee LaBay and Kevin Hogan. There is a chapter in there on properity. While there are many books talking about prosperity, I have NEVER read one that takes the time to discuss the history of money. Not only did I feel that I learned more than I ever knew about the origins of money... I am on a path of increasing my prosperity in all areas of my life, and this book literally unlocked something inside my mind on this topic. I think it was because it was so succinct and clear.

The book gives you fun, tangible meditations, exercises and ways to re-think situations in your life... BUY THE BOOK!!! There is something in it for everyone. I feel it is worth it even if you only read one chapter and got value from that...

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Through the Open Door - Secrets of Self Hypnosis, October 26, 2000

By 

Joe Duchene (Eagan Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through the Open Door: Secrets of Self-Hypnosis (Hardcover)

Being a full-time professional hypnotherapist I found the information concise and quite usable. I have been looking for a book that I could recommend to my clients for quite some time. Because this book explains the concepts of how the mind works in a direct method using examples and metaphors, people of all levels of knowledge will gain from it. Whether you are a hypnotherapist looking to explore some of the finer nuances of hypnosis, or a person who wants to use more of your own God given resources, this book will help you. If you are ready to take control of your life and make the improvements that you want to have, then this book is a must!