Dr. David Spiegel

We call them the researchers. They want to examine and evaluate everything. At the other extreme, some people retain extremely high hypnotizability, and we call them the poets. They just get into it. They just absorb themselves in anything. I had one guy recently who gets, he loved getting lost in movies. You know, he just enters another world. He becomes an actor in the movie and part of it.

And he decided he loved it so much that he went to film school to learn how to make movies. And he said, you know what? It was spoiling my experience of movies because I started thinking, well, why did they put the camera over here and the lighting isn't right and all this? And he said, so I quit film school because I was losing that ability.

And he decided he loved it so much that he went to film school to learn how to make movies. And he said, you know what? It was spoiling my experience of movies because I started thinking, well, why did they put the camera over here and the lighting isn't right and all this? And he said, so I quit film school because I was losing that ability.

About 60% of the adult population, they're moderately hypnotized. Well, they haven't experienced and they step back and reflect on it and then they try it again. Most of them can benefit to some extent from Reverie, from other hypnotic techniques, because even if you're not in it all the time, if you can dip into it and have the experience, you can change.

About 60% of the adult population, they're moderately hypnotized. Well, they haven't experienced and they step back and reflect on it and then they try it again. Most of them can benefit to some extent from Reverie, from other hypnotic techniques, because even if you're not in it all the time, if you can dip into it and have the experience, you can change.

And part of what we offer with Reverie is not just hypnosis, but the way we use hypnosis. And I think there's some of this in thinking like a monk where you talk about the value of positivity, of finding a positive aspect of even the most menial things that you have to do. And with hypnosis, we try to use it in a way that you focus on what you're for.

And part of what we offer with Reverie is not just hypnosis, but the way we use hypnosis. And I think there's some of this in thinking like a monk where you talk about the value of positivity, of finding a positive aspect of even the most menial things that you have to do. And with hypnosis, we try to use it in a way that you focus on what you're for.

So when people want to stop smoking, I don't say, oh, cigarettes smell terrible. You know, they're awful things to do. Look at what you're doing to your body. I say, have them recite this to yourself. For my body, smoking is a poison. I need my body to live. I owe my body respect and protection. So you're being a better parent to your own body.

So when people want to stop smoking, I don't say, oh, cigarettes smell terrible. You know, they're awful things to do. Look at what you're doing to your body. I say, have them recite this to yourself. For my body, smoking is a poison. I need my body to live. I owe my body respect and protection. So you're being a better parent to your own body.

You'd never put tar and nicotine-laden smoke into your baby's lungs or your pet's lungs. Why would you do it to your own body? It depends on you. So people can get with that approach to the problem even if they're not that hypnotizable, focusing on what you're for. So can you change it? It's a remarkably stable trait, Jay. I didn't, but colleagues of mine at Stanford,

You'd never put tar and nicotine-laden smoke into your baby's lungs or your pet's lungs. Why would you do it to your own body? It depends on you. So people can get with that approach to the problem even if they're not that hypnotizable, focusing on what you're for. So can you change it? It's a remarkably stable trait, Jay. I didn't, but colleagues of mine at Stanford,

did a 25-year follow-up on former students who in Psych 1 had had their hypnotizability measured, and they blindly retested them 25 years later. The test-retest reliability was 0.7. Now, that's as reliable as IQ is over that interval. And so it's an extremely stable trait.

did a 25-year follow-up on former students who in Psych 1 had had their hypnotizability measured, and they blindly retested them 25 years later. The test-retest reliability was 0.7. Now, that's as reliable as IQ is over that interval. And so it's an extremely stable trait.

We just published a paper recently in which we used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which you apply magnetic activity to the surface of the skull. And if you line it up in the right place, you can connect between the prefrontal cortex to deeper components of the brain, like the dorsal anterior cingulate.

We just published a paper recently in which we used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which you apply magnetic activity to the surface of the skull. And if you line it up in the right place, you can connect between the prefrontal cortex to deeper components of the brain, like the dorsal anterior cingulate.

And we found that we could transiently increase hypnotizability a bit. And we're hoping that we can expand upon that and maybe find ways to increase hypnotizability. But I'd say for most people, just make good use of what you've got. The odds are that you will be able to benefit. And we're struck by the fact that at least four out of five people who use Reverie feel immediate improvement.

And we found that we could transiently increase hypnotizability a bit. And we're hoping that we can expand upon that and maybe find ways to increase hypnotizability. But I'd say for most people, just make good use of what you've got. The odds are that you will be able to benefit. And we're struck by the fact that at least four out of five people who use Reverie feel immediate improvement.

And that's a whole, it is correlated with their hypnotizability. We looked at that. The more hypnotizable ones were more likely to respond, but most people responded to some extent anyway.

And that's a whole, it is correlated with their hypnotizability. We looked at that. The more hypnotizable ones were more likely to respond, but most people responded to some extent anyway.

Well, thank you. I certainly, you know, I want to kind of...