Brian Stracner has been a contributing author for many publications, including the Golf Gazette of Northern California in Chico. Brian Stracner writes articles on hypnosis, hypnotherapy, the mind body connection, guided visualization, and he specializes in writing articles about the subconscious mind and how it affects behaviors and beliefs. If you would like an article written for your publication send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “Article” in the subject line, please allow up to 48 hours for a response.

Golf Gazette Issue 3: November/December 2009

Discover Your Inner Caddie

Brian Stracner

The left brain is the analytical and logical part of the brain that the negative inner caddie lives in. The right brain is the creative and imaginative part of the mind that we utilize in hypnotherapy and guided imagery. Many studies show that guided imagery and hypnosis stops the negative inner caddie from analyzing the shot to death.

If something is bothering you, using self hypnosis before your round will help you refocus and move into a more positive state. If you have a difficult time imagining, try not to get hung up on visualization. We can imagine in more ways than one, and it is important to imagine how the perfect shot looks, feels, sound, smells, and tastes.

Take three deep breaths into the belly. Visualize your golf clubs, your glove, your shoes, and your hat. Remember the green smell of freshly cut grass. By the time that you notice yourself relax, you will have already begun to connect with the feeling of that perfectly balanced swing. Notice the ease of your rhythm.

Imagine a hologram of yourself doing your preshot routine. Watch the hologram take two practice swings then address the ball, sending it into motion perfectly with the sound of the perfect knock. Imagine yourself walking away smiling and calm, while giving yourself a warm, honest, look, like a smile from an old friend. Imagine the taste of crisp cool water as you enjoy the feeling of nailing that perfect swing.

Think about how you would coach a good friend through the shot, or what they might say to help you. Imagine that perfect swing hologram is standing at the address. As you step into the bubble, imagine that you are stepping into that hologram of yourself, and then follow through with that amazing shot.

In doing this you create a well rounded mental video. You can learn how to stop, rewind, fast forward, and go in slow motion through your mental video at the Inner Caddie workshop coming soon through Golf Ect. And North State Hypnosis.

Adding imagery not only shuts down the negative inner dialogue, but it also sets the environment for success. A good caddie helps you access the right hemisphere of your brain by detailing the process enough to get your senses imagining your success. Shutting out the negative caddie and utilizing imagery is the key to finding your positive inner caddie.

Golf Gazette Issue 4: January/February 2010

Don’t Let Winter Stress Stop You From Playing

By Brian Stracner

North State Hypnosis

In these cold winter months stress levels can elevate and moods tend to change. Lack of sleep can add to the strain. Some days golfing can be like dangling near the brink of transcendence, but winter weather does not always allow for golf. However, right before you fall asleep you can take advantage of your natural hypnotic state to improve your swing before the spring.

Imagining successful golf techniques in the hypnotic state has been shown to reinforce strengths and help iron out weaknesses. It is important to imagine going through the whole swing from the preshot routine all the way to the finish. Now don’t you wonder when this natural hypnotic state occurs?

There are five phases of sleep. The five phases include the thinking state, the wishful thinking state, the hypnoidal state, the delta, and theta states. As people visualize or imagine when they are floating off to sleep they are in the hypnoidal state. Everyone must go through the hypnoidal state to fall asleep.

Golfers can take advantage of this natural trance to improve their golf game instead of simply counting sheep. When using any form of trance for therapeutic purposes, focus on only one suggestion at a time for the best results. The more suggestions used at one time, the weaker they become.

Practicing golf in the hypnoidal state will help you improve, if you are imagining your swing correctly. If you are having difficulty staying in the hypnoidal state without falling asleep you can come into North State Hypnosis for a hypnotic golf journey. While waiting for the sun to reappear combine the techniques that you are learning with these mental game methods to keep your swing razor sharp.

If you would like to learn more about guided imagery, self-hypnosis, or would like to schedule a session at North State Hypnosis call 530.828.0880

Visit JustDoGolf.com for more information on how to discover your inner caddie.

Golf Gazette Issue 5: March/April 2010

It’s More Than A Pre-Shot Routine

Brian Stracner

Golf is a game of misses. Sometimes it’s not about how well we hit its how well we missed. Jack Nicolaus probably the best player of our time said he "only hits 2 or 3 perfect shots in a round. He misses well on the rest of them."

Golf like life is not fair, and also, like life, you can't accomplish absolute perfection. Golf is not a game of perfect. Practice in golf does not make perfect, but practice does make better, provided we practice well.

Having attainable goals is an important facet of staying focused and moving forward. If a person is focused on an outcome it is easier for them to say to themselves "good shot," even though it misses perfection. When I was trying to get into the swing of golf, my goal was completely unreachable since I had not made an immediate goal. I knew that I wanted to become a golfer, but I was looking at a large chunk of ability. What I needed to focus on was the smaller pieces, and silence the inner chatter that was clogging up my tempo with logic and critical self-thinking. All of the small goals eventually add up into the creation of the larger picture, and practicing positive golf techniques while eliminating bad habits will equal success on the golf course. A good teacher will lead you in a direction that works for you.

It is important for a teacher to understand enough to be able to adapt to the client. Many times in many situations, whether in be on the greens or in an office, people try to fit others into their own idea of reality. Robert Anton Wilson once said that the key to wisdom is to be able to see things through other peoples "reality tunnel." There is no box that any individual can be crammed into. The box must be built around the subject. However, when a person is learning material it is vital that they forget all of their prior teachings to create a new blank slate for the instructor to write on. This is true even if the learner already has knowledge of the subject. On a recent episode of the Haney project Ray Ramano said that Haney was putting too much information in Ray's head. Haney replied that the problem was that Ramano was not letting go of his own prior learning, which in turn was blocking the information that Haney was offering. When someone is giving a lesson it is important respect the time they are putting into you by throwing away criticism, opening the mind, and learning the lesson again if need be. By becoming an empty paper for the teacher to write on, it is easier to assimilate the information.

The key for most students is to gain the ability to assimilate the information in a manner that will show some return. The best way to this is visualize yourself doing what the teacher recommended. This process of visualization is something everyone can learn, and it can become a tool to be used in all aspects of your life. North State Hypnosis teaches these methods to a variety of people for a variety of reasons including smoking cessation, weight loss, natural sports/performance enhancement, cancer and auto immune disorder, stress relief, phobia and anxiety cures, pain reduction, and certification in hypnotherapy and reiki. Contact Brian for a free consultation www.NorthStateHypnosis.net