Wendy N. Lapidus-Saltz

The young woman in my hypnosis office had a burning question that needed answering before she would sit down: "Ever hypnotize someone to be a vegetarian?" "No," I said. I had told her a month earlier by phone, but she was optimistic. I wished a troop of vegetarian hopefuls had flocked to my...

Some people like spending money. It makes them happy to believe they are experiencing all life has to offer. They enjoy transforming hours of work into hours of pleasure by spending what they make on what they enjoy. The problem begins when spending outstrips saving. It can happen quickly in our...

Ok, no jokes about hypnotizing the boss to hand you a raise. This is for real. If hypnosis can help lifetime smokers quit in one session, in shedding pounds that have held onto for years, even open the possibility for lifelong singles to attract love, might hypnosis help you bring in...

Someone offhandedly comments that a salesperson hypnotized them into a purchase. Obama is seen by some as having hypnotized voters into voting for him. A commercial, an effective teacher, a persuasive friend, is characterized as having hypnotic powers. When a man spends more time with his new girlfriend than with his...

There are close-to-universal cravings and desires that may, or may not, be healthy. And yearnings to be better in something than we are now. The topic varies-socializing, academic pursuits, a particular skill, appearance-but the feelings are the same. Few can entirely escape sadness and loss; desire for something we believe we...

A client rang me up the other day. "I'm at a total halt," she confessed, "Everything was going well, I was meeting guys, had a few good dates, I was beginning to know exactly what I want, and then-nothing!" I asked her how this nothingness happened. Were there no more social...

A friend who knows you well announces there's a special person you need to meet- and you feel great. You feel even greater when that person really turns out to be as special as he or she was described. And the best? When it becomes a real relationship. But how often does...

If someone says he or she can stop menopause, and turn the clock back 20 years, don't buy it. I know it's tempting. And maybe a decade from now it will be possible, or even sooner. But not just yet-no matter whether the product on offer is...

When an actor as accomplished as Sir Anthony Hopkins says he has used hypnosis successfully, you can't help but be curious, right? You probably wonder, as I did: what has he used this often-admired, more-often-misunderstood tool for? The answer: to quit smoking. Hopkins knew smoking wasn't healthy and, it is rumored, was...

Ask most college students if they have experienced hypnosis, and they'll tell you about a hypnosis show they saw in high school or college. It was funny, and intriguing, but they haven't thought about it since. Yet hypnosis can give students far more than entertainment. Some know this personally. They're just...