There was an article in one of our national daily tabloids about a czech speedway rider recently.

He had a crash that had knocked him unconsious and hurt his knee. Now, up until this event, he had only been able to speak broken english.

When the ambulance crew attended him and his speedway team mates arrived on the scene he was conversing in perfect english. Amazingly he also had an english accent too.

Apparently when he came aronnd he had no idea where he was or even that he was czech. (I wonder is this is a clue)

Now recovering back in the Czech Republic he is unable to remember the accident or the two following days. Unfortunately his english language skills didn't last long and he is now back to his broken english.

I wonder whether, if he hadn't been told he was czech,  this would have lasted longer?

Any thoughts ? ( a part from hitting clients who want to improve their language skills on the head)

Best wishes

 Steve

London Hypnosis

A Tribute to Duncan McColl

15th November 1921 to 7th September 2007

I first made contact with Duncan McColl in 1996 after buying his book "Precision Therapy". Unusually for an author, he had included his contact details at the back of the book. Whenever I had any dealings with Duncan he would always be bright, enthusiastic, immensely knowledgeable and wonderfully humorous. He was one of those people who could communicate a lot with just a few words. Even his silences seemed to carry weight.

Duncan, was an RAF pilot during WW2 when he married his wife Mary within six weeks of meeting her. After the war he qualified as a chartered accountant and spent some 35 years in Spain, Mexico, USA, Australia and Canada before returning and settling in Shropshire.

He studied eastern and western philosophy and managed to bring the best of these teachings to his recordings. In his first book "The Magic of Mind Power", originally published in 1985, a glimpse through the index gives an idea of the range of works he studied and appreciated. His sense of fun is clear too.

As an effective hypnoanalyst Duncan developed Precision Therapy. This approach aimed at getting results for clients within hours rather than weeks or months and he trained enlightened therapists in his methods.

Duncan's research convinced him that we have the potential to do and achieve anything we set our minds to. As he repeated, to be human is not to be puny, fearful, self-conscious or weak, to be human is to develop inner purpose and strength, to mature, to excel, to lead, to inspire, to be the very best that there is in the vast fullness and the wonder of life.

A quote from his first book "The Magic of Mind Power" says it all ...

"Born as an eagle, why choose to live like a parrot with clipped wings?"

Yet it is through his self-hypnosis recordings that many people knew him. In these he passed on the lessons of the Masters past and present, Zen, Sufism and other like disciplines coupled with 35 years experience of hypnotherapy and behavioural science. He would receive countless "thank-you" letters from his customers who were delighted by the results they enjoyed through using his tapes.

To this end, Duncan was blessed with the most soothing of voices and this, coupled with his understanding of how the mind works, led to a powerful range of tapes for virtually any issue. He informed me he had over 650 variations to his self-hypnosis catalogue.

Duncan was always ready for a challenge. In 1992 he produced an innovation in taped therapy, the Whisper Subliminal. This was needed to be played in a general hospital ward to help patients who had not been advised of the terminal nature of their problems. The results were impressive enough for the Whisper Subliminal to become a regular issue for many of his tape subjects.

In early 2003 I realised that Duncan was still issuing his recordings on cassettes. I offered to transfer these to cd and this is when our business partnership started. I provided the cds and he would provide the tapes to his customers; a task that meant he was still virtually working full-time up until his passing.

This Summer it suddenly struck me that it would be good to capture Duncan on video. Even to have him answer questions about life and his philosophy for 30 minutes would be invaluable. So I proposed this to him.

Duncan said it would be difficult to find the time to do it. Clumsily, I suggested it was a bit like having Plato or Socrates around during the video age and not capturing him on film. Typically Duncan did not react to, or seek what may have seemed flattery, even though for me, I meant every word. 

Duncan was a great colleague and friend to so many therapists worldwide. He will be more than missed. However I hope he will rest in peace knowing his recordings will continue to help, heal and inspire. He leaves a great legacy.

Duncan passed away on Friday 7th September 2007 at the age of 85. Anyone who has listened to his tapes or cds will know what I mean when I say that he truly lived his life with noble purpose.

Steven Harold
London Hypnotherapist