Strategic Self-Hypnosis: How to Overcome Stress, Improve Performance, and Live to Your Fullest Potential

A great book. The only one I'm aware of that gives you a non-BS procedure and absolutely thorough, usable programme to work through. Not sure I agree entirely with his non-trance model of the hypnotic process (as if I'd know), but this guy's sociological approach is, if anything, the better for his take on it. It's an absolutely superb and unique programme. Having worked through this you should then buy the handful of decent self-hypnosis books out there. Here they are: Simpkins and Simpkins, Effective Self-Hypnosis; William Fezler, Creative Imagery; Leslie LeCron, Self-Hypnotism (dated and completely redundant in parts, but still worth getting). After that you may profit from the standard textbook by Michael Yapko, Tranceworks, but only as a reference. TranceFormations, if gettable, by Bandler and Grinder, and Training Trances by Overdurf and Silverthorn are extremely useful for getting a handle on the concepts underlying this whole field. And you really do need an intellectual grasp on this stuff. But every other book out there is hopeless. Amazing but true. (One surprising exception, now I think of it, is Forbes Robbins Blair's Instant Self-Hypnosis: a rather commercial project but of actual interest and use.) But get the first three I mentioned, and maybe Straus's second book, Creative Self Hypnosis. You can read the entire texts of Straus's books on iuniverse's website. Email me (an utter novice but a prolific book buyer in this field) if you like.

I mistakenly submitted my review for this book for the companion book, Creative Self-Hypnosis, but the review is the same. Straus' two books provide the reader with the best and most useful instruction on using self-hypnosis to achieve one's goals. In the process, Straus also presents a perspective on the mind that by itself can help people work more effectively toward their goals or solve personal problems.