Imagine how much more fun or productive your trips would be without the fears often associated with travel — fear of flying, fear of illness and even fear of travel itself. I don’t suffer from any of those, but I have my own non-travel issues, and I recently took a major step in lessening them.

Last week, I had a tremendous experience at the Chicago Hypnosis Center through hypnosis performed by Catherine Johns, a certified hypnotist and a master practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming. This was my first experience with hypnosis, and it was wonderful.

Johns describes hypnosis as “a gym for the mind . . . to exercise the brain in a different way.” My brain has always been trained to worry too much about too many things. I hoped my brain would be retrained to release the anxieties.

In our pre-hypnosis discussion, I quickly became at ease with Johns (a former longtime Chicago radio personality). Johns patiently walked me through some questions until we got to my core problems. We eventually characterized them as lumpy, gray baggage. The actual hypnosis session started with the goal of getting rid of that lumpy, gray baggage (or at least lessening it).

I sat back in a big, comfy chair, and Johns started talking me into a state of complete relaxation. It is while in the trance-like state that the real work is done. I remember Johns talking to me about dropping my “baggage” at my feet. I remember picturing myself doing just that. About 30 minutes later, when Johns guided me back into a fully conscious state, I felt lighter and brighter (as if some of that baggage was gone).

This was my experience for my issues, but I talked to Johns at length about overcoming other fears (such as the previously mentioned travel fears). Johns and her partner Karen Hand are trained to bypass the conscious mind to get to the subconscious mind. The overall process would be similar, although the suggestions given to the subconscious would vary. I didn’t have to accept my issues, and travelers don’t have to accept their fears. I no longer have to imagine my world with less angst. Thanks to hypnosis, my new world has less.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist