TRANCE WRITING ON MAY 28TH

“Man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.”

-Albert Camus

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An experiential learning lab to explore and examine new pathways to peak states of flow, inspiration, and productivity.

TRANCE WRITING is a learning lab series dynamically exploring hypnosis, guided trance, and meditation as sources of inspiration and creativity. Practice is offered to cultivate a shared sense of calm and subtract what we don’t need before intervals of writing. The opposite of a workshop in three-act structure - proper etiquette, form, supposed best practices, and otherwise serious matters are (respectfully and temporarily) placed aside. The process is examined from a new and different perspective. Taking what is useful, and leaving the rest. Subtraction is part of our goal. Removing inessentials and discarding what’s not serving the writer are threaded into the ethos of this workshop. Acknowledging play as the transformative element, we embrace the subconscious.

DANIEL has maintained full-time practice in New York City since 2011. His office is located at the Center for Integrative Hypnosis. He enjoys offering hypnotherapy, regression therapy, meditation, and guided experiences to individuals and groups all over the world. He received his undergraduate degree (BFA) from Emerson College where his research focused on literature, philosophy, and sociology. He retains board certifications in hypnotherapy, regression therapy, and neuro-linguistic psychology, and co-founded the Center for Integrative Healing in Chatham, NJ.  Daniel studied and taught the practices of Vedic philosophy and meditation at the School of Practical Philosophy in New York City from 2007 to 2014.

Trance Writing with Daniel Ryan:

• MAY 28, 2019

• 6:30PM - 8:30PM

• The Assemblage John Street - 17 John Street, NYC 

• Click here for the webpage. Password: TRANCE28

• Message me to attend as a guest

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IN HYPNOSIS

What would it look like and what does it mean to be a “thought leader” in hypnosis? How do we set ourselves apart in the industry? Is it even an industry? And how are we defining ‘hypnosis’ again? These are all fair questions. Within the larger ecosystem of modern mental healthcare, hypnotherapy probably occupies a small space somewhere along the margins. In the history of mental health in the Western world however, hypnosis is a large presence at the center of the frame providing most of the seeds of Freudian Psychoanalysis in the Victorian world.

I’m looking forward to exploring the subject at an upcoming local conference this weekend. Without being able to boil down the content of the talk into a few sentences, I will say the delicate balance between follower and leader will be explored. Built into my story is the dumb luck (or destiny) of having been born at a source, my Father. As mentioned above, Hypnosis and Past Life Regression are my family business. I’ve had the unique and fascinating experience of close observation to the conventions, trainings, teachers, personalities, styles, and media around these subjects for decades. It’s given me terrific context to work with others, and play off expectations. Even though popular messaging around wellness has evolved significantly in the last 20 years, hypnosis remains mostly opaque and misunderstood. Another unfortunate fact that can be leveraged in creative ways (misleading ones too).

After my Dad passed in 2011, I inherited his work and had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Tiers the following year. Another source with whom I now share an office at The Center for Integrative Hypnosis in NYC, and regard as a dear friend and mentor. My practice could not be more different than my Dad’s and Melissa’s, and yet my proximity to them has been essential to my success, constantly instructive, and supportive when it was needed too. One thing is certain, in a field with such deep history and so much misinformation, good teachers that are worth our trust can be difficult to find.

PAST LIFE MEDITATIONS AT ONE THOUSAND BIRDS

NEXT: APRIL 24TH, 2019 @ OTBIRDS IN SOHO

70 WOOSTER $20

RSVP: Holler@otbirds.com

During this 90-120 minute guided experience held within a gorgeous SoHo soundhouse, we’ll begin with a talk and brief discussion answering any questions. Then the practical portion of the evening begins with the first regression. There will be time for people who would like to share their observations and points of view to hear each other. Siblings to past life regression that may be referenced or discussed over the course of the evening include shamanic journeying, Jungian archetypal journeys, dream work, family constellation therapy, inner child work, early trials and treatments for trauma and depression utilizing cannabis or psychedelics, and akashic records readings. Past life regression has a history in hypnotherapy and ingredients common to guided meditation. Whether approached as a therapeutic intervention or creative play, the potential within the practice is transformational.

Co-hosted by the bird of paradise, Calvin Pia.

“It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.”

— Voltaire

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”

— Alan Watts

KONMARI & HYPNOTHERAPY: INTERNAL REFLECTS EXTERNAL

Artist, author, and my friend, Jessica Yatrofsky (and me).

The predominantly Buddhist precept of the internal reflecting the external and a clean space experienced as a feeling, connect the central principles and metaphors we’ll be exploring during this 90-minute practical conversation. Connecting the KonMari Method to Hypnotherapy, we are de-cluttering the outer world and the inner world through action, visualization, and meditation. Psychological organization can equate to physiological states, and a clean space can support a sense of peace and order in similar ways — balancing calmly within somatic peace and equilibrium. Tickets: $40 / free for members.

• APRIL 1: 7:00PM-8:30PM

• The Assemblage John Street

• 17 John St. New York City

About Jessica Yatrofsky: Jessica is a New York-based artist, author and minimalist. She received her MFA from Parsons the New School for Design and published her first photography monograph with powerHouse Books in 2010 and her second photography monograph in 2015. Jessica’s photographic work is part of the permanent collection with the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art and the Museum of Sex. She is a certified KonMari™consultant and lifestyle coach focusing on aesthetic and creative-inspired living.

INTERVIEW W/ KENSHO

I recently had the pleasure of offering a Q&A to the founders - and my friends - at Kensho, a new business looking to bring innovation to how we find and receive our wellness. Check it out below, thanks for reading.

- When did you transition into holistic health? Can you describe your transition?

I inherited my father’s work in 2011. He was a hypnotherapist and a regression therapist who served as the President of the Association for Past Life Research and Therapies in the 90s. I grew up with his practice and was comfortable around the subject matter at a young age. The transition was both sudden and planned for all my life. There was a grief process in the background, and this feeling of returning to where I had started in the foreground that was tremendously comforting. Despite being more focused than I ever had been, I - of course - had years of learning still ahead of me.

- What is it like practicing a modality that your father also practiced and taught you?

In my case it’s a rare pleasure. My old man was always self-deprecating and would shrug off the idea that one of his sons would follow in his footsteps. He was able to guide me with a detachment that allowed for open exploration. I would gravitate to what called me. Now I feel equal and opposite to him. Ultimately we practice very differently, but he was the product of another time and set of experiences. And I like to think the best of his wisdom persists.

- Was there an ah-ha moment (or shift) for you, when everything became more clear? What was it?

I had the good luck to be guided to Melissa Tiers early on in my career. My training up until that point was deep with philosophy, esoteric mysticism, and guided therapy. Melissa is an award-winning author and a leader in the field of hypnosis. She was – and is – focused on the brain and positive psychology. Her approach is rigorously optimized to utilize neuroplasticity in a client-centered, compassionate framework. She is the force that rooted all the heady ideas I had up until that point. She is a mentor to me and my dear friend. The community of therapists that she created and fostered here in the city is inspiring.

- Tell us about your work.

I love working with the tool of hypnotherapy because there is this practical, non-intellectual, subconscious portion of the discipline that is devoted to balancing conversational therapy. I feel all therapies, self-improvement systems, personality assessments, life-hacks, etc., to be created equal. They are tools available to us. Hypnosis has 200 years of botched PR behind it and a sea of misconceptions in popular culture. And yet all over the world hundreds of thousands of people use it, seek it, and benefit from it every day. Medical Hypnosis has a rich history of good science. And much like the current clinical trials on therapeutic experiences with cannabis and psilocybin, it is an experience one has and cognizes. It is neither theoretical or pharmaceutical. It is a semi-narrative brain training in how you want to feel during performance. If you have a moment and you’re curious, look up Dr. Milton Erickson.

- What do you think are some of the challenges the wellness industry faces? How do you cope with it? How might you change it?

The “wellness industry” is generally not well enough defined. First, I consider myself part of it so anything I say I include myself in. On the consumer side, it generally feels like a funhouse. Hypothetically, every time a wellness practitioner has the thought to creatively market themselves or their product, people on the consumer side get a little more confused. The Venn diagram of wellness services and actual healthcare is economically and ideologically intertwined, yet necessarily separate. We hear it’s a trillion-dollar industry with terrific growth yet projected. That says there’s a lot of people willing to spend money to feel better, but do we know what we’re spending it on?

- Some folks are skeptical about hypnotism...how do you answer these questions?

There’s good reason to be skeptical. When I meet someone who is skeptical, I ask them “Why?” And usually they tell me story about a show they saw or a story they heard and I’ll agree with them, it will sound strange as hell. And then we’ll have a conversation about what might have been going on there, why, and how. Generally, it only takes a couple minutes for a person’s mind to open, if not change.

Regarding the aforementioned “bad PR”, hypnosis has a long history of dramatization, misrepresentation, misuse, often even weaponization - as in the popular and fantastic, “Get Out”. Few, if any, accurately portray hypnosis though most will reference a few kernels of truth. Like Oz, when the curtain is pulled back, what’s discovered is both disappointing and revelatory. Trance is common and naturally occurring. Examples include “highway hypnosis”, states induced in movie theaters and by screens in general, and creative flow states. While it true there are forces around us vying for our attention (advertising especially), the core principle is “all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.”

- What's the most fun thing about what you do? What's the hardest thing?

It’s a balance to productively de-mystify hypnosis without taking out the fun. Honestly, I love the weirdness of the field and again, having grown up with it - feel a genuine affection for the range of character that is drawn to practice and study. And then of course, there is the gratitude that comes with the one-on-one experience. Through ups and downs, it has always been a pleasure to work with the people of this city, who are essentially my neighbors. It sustains me literally and figuratively. My practice will change but I’ll always keep some amount of hours in my week for that.

- Is there a particular practice that has changed your life? How come?

I was recently inspired by my friend, Rachelle Robinett, to experiment with intermittent fasting and I’m loving it. My favorite part is that I don’t have to think about food, just time. Whether observing certain hours or sunrise and sunset, it’s cycles of time working in tandem with meals that’s exciting and motivating me to continue. The subject of food often makes me feel like a 5- year-old, so I appreciate the simplicity in just listening to my body while observing the clock.

My wife, Dr. Sarah Biffen, is an acupuncturist and doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Learning over her shoulder about TCM, Five Elements, the meridian systems and all other aspects of her training for years has been enlightening. Particularly the wisdom on food, age, and family health is interesting to me at the moment. It’s essential, even if I don’t always follow the suggested dietary guidelines.

IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS: REGRESSION THERAPY FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF NON-HUMAN EXPERIENCES

In October of 2011, I was attending the World Congress for Regression Therapy in Turkey. I had the pleasure of observing a demonstration by a Dutch therapist named, Hans TenDam. A pioneer within Regression Therapy, Hans served for a time as the President of the European Association for Regression Therapy. The clever acronym for their intrepid association was EARTh. And in Hans’ dry, Dutch delivery he would begin his talks by saying “Hello, I am Hans, President of EARTh.”

I was aware of his work and reputation through a connection to my father, and was excited to be training with him. (He and my Dad had become friendly over smoke breaks, being among the few therapists at the conferences they both frequented who enjoyed the rare or regular cigarette.)

During this demonstration, Hans was walking us through what was intended as a routine past life regression (if there is such a thing). He was elegantly illustrating transformation in three broad steps.

1. Catharsis - the catalyzing event

2. Integration - the gathering of new resources/information and discarding of inessentials

3. Transformation - the completion and actualization of the new order

Hans’ style of guidance was confident and workman-like. Focused, resolute, and in sync with the person before him, his compassion and professionalism were the same. Working with a Turkish woman as his client, let’s call her Guna, while the group silently observed, after a brief induction she soon drifted into the consciousness of a American Indian woman on a walk. Relatively standard fare for past life regression so far, attention with the senses as she’s noticing what the Indian woman is doing - and then something happened. She described time stopping, light and dark changing completely, and an absolute and seemingly inexplicable break with the reality inside the reality she was currently occupying.

She was being visited by an extra-terrestrial. Though my memories of the wording are gauzy at best, (to have recorded it would have violated the privacy of the woman volunteering) I’ve never forgotten the moment and Hans’ message during her experience. There was a stunning pause as the revelation unfolded. Without anyone breaking the code of respect and quiet, one sensed the cacophony of opinions, excitement, and disbelief as she expressed to Hans what was happening. Whatever shock was present stood in contrast to Hans’ relaxation and stability.

When he realized what was happening, he established permission with his client to “break the fourth wall” (my words, not his) and spoke to the group. He calmly instructed us, “when this happens, whatever form an entity appears in, you become its’ therapist too.”

Immediately, as if transmitted by the tone of his voice, any fear of an alien or skepticism of a human being disappeared from my body. As it left, confidence and curiosity returned. Hans brought his attention back to her as she described the entity as a ball of yellow light with a thousand tentacle-like arms waving with lights at the end of them. It was peaceful. She described it as nonviolently occupying her body. It was lost, off-course. Without gender or human means of communication, a broken and whispered conversation unfolded.

Now working backwards through a Russian doll-like encasing of psyches, Hans would help the entity find what it needed to peacefully leave the American Indian woman’s body. He then addressed the trauma left in the American Indian woman, helping her integrate what she needed to take the story without internalizing the shock or “alienation”. And then finally, there was Guna who’s body and consciousness all this had taken place in - who was seeking transformation and may or may not have known what she was signing up for when she took this training. Hans guided her through a series of questions, like a healing interview:

“Do you need to carry any more pain?”

“No.”

“Do you need or deserve to suffer?”

“No.”

“And do you feel you can integrate the lessons of this experience comfortably, taking what is useful and leaving the rest?”

“Yes.”

After a few more moments, Hans gently closed the trance. Guna slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She was applauded and praised.

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I would love to know how Guna reflects on this experience now. To the best of my memory, this is what happened. And before we throw more opinions and noise on the fire, know that in an hour I saw a real Turkish woman compassionately guided from catharsis, through integration, to a metaphorical and palpable transformation. And though it may be tempting to gravitate towards the often sensationalized content of alien beings, extra terrestrials, or past lives, the coolest moment may have been the suggestion to become the therapist of whatever appears before you.

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Alan Steinfeld in his second attempt to retrieve the memories of experience from July 1987, where he and friend felt as if they were in suspended animation through the night. He woke up with a four puncture wound on the back of his leg, an no recall at all of having been moved during the night.

Compared to the science-fiction movies of my youth, this was also rather boring. I never cease to be amused by the distance between heightened depictions of hypnotherapy in films and on TV, and the hushed casual intimacy of the real thing which unless you are directly involved with, is generally hard to follow and again, kinda boring.

These subjects themselves have been - for better or worse - loaded with emotion and largely stripped of reasonable conversation. I‘ve recently been enjoying working with Alan Steinfeld (see above video). Alan has been working with the alien-abduction and extra-terrestrial communities for decades and himself has an abduction story. In 1987, he and two friends fell asleep in their car on the side of a country road. What happened afterwards has seemingly and potentially traumatically been wiped from Alan’s memory and we have been using regression to retrieve the memories of his experience.

Now - there is a lot to contextualize there.

1) I am agnostic to the truth of what occurred in 1987. The focus is on Alan’s truth because

2) hypnosis for memory retrieval is not something I generally do and highly dubious not because hypnosis is a false magic trick, but because it has been generally proven by modern neuroscience that this is simply not how our memory works. We cannot access a static reliving of the way things were through hypnosis because time passes and what memory stores - citing Dr. Joseph LeDoux, and my friend and mentor, Melissa - is an emotionally filtered and unconsciously curated reconstruction of what our body feels to have happened (also Bessel van der Kolk). Knowing and operating from a more sound sense of our self, we can set the intention more accurately for a calm exploration of these growing and changing narratives. In cases of retrieval, of course, we are looking for what is not there. And with compassion to any person who, like myself, has ever struggled to remember something or sought to better their memory, I will

3) still work with people who want to explore this territory. I simply insist we have this nuanced conversation and understanding of the memories we’re exploring. The reframing of how we’re even considering the memory usually provides people some relief right away.

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When working with the regular groups I lead in past life regression, there is a constant theme of animal experiences. Often times, people have experiences as dogs or cats, underwater creatures, birds, camels… and often time, these experiences are lovely. Perhaps silly-sounding and easily dismissed, judging by the facial expressions and the verbal descriptions of the feelings during these experiences, they are amazing. I’m left marveling at how powerful it is to sincerely and momentarily touch another animal’s consciousness. Personally, when it comes to the subject of alien life, on one hand it seems impossible to me that we’re alone in the universe. And on the other there are the questions of communication and how we see what is already around us. 

One of the most unexpected pleasures to emerge in the sessions with Alan thus far is a non-human exploration of time and physics. In his stories, it is very clear that the beings he’s contacted by interact with time differently than we do, and perhaps we can’t understand it through our human apparatus. Ideas like this are pretty consistent with the stories and literature on the subject. I don’t interpret this as distraction or detour, but rather instruction. The first step in our exploration is to look differently at time. What that means? We’ll see. 

One of the many things I appreciate about Alan is his awareness of trauma. He’s not blind to it’s impact on the brain and memory. Back in Turkey in 2011, something else Hans emphasized was the literal and metaphorical “alienation” that exists in the personalities and psychology of people that had interest in, or interacted with, extra-terrestrials. There is a broad isolation and persistent non-conformity in the individual that usually manifests as problematic to a certain kind of orthodoxy. What is marginalized and discarded by one group however, can be a superpower with another. The reminder for the therapist is to remain vigilant of projection, disassociation, and/or transference.

Whether we can achieve a new and different understanding of time or language (as explored in the film, “Arrival”, which I felt was a rather inspired take of the themes), we can agree English is a limited tool set. Generally, stories of alien-abduction are not met with compassion. As the horror movie-trope of the asylum casts those amongst us in need of mental health assistance as monsters, the fear-based weirdness and hollywood disaster movies haven’t helped us talk to each other about these stories impacting some of us in very real ways. All of this contributes to why I’m thankful again, to have strangely useful training in a therapy that can imagine another way.                       

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Ever since beginning to work with Alan, I’ve had a few friends open up to me about experiences and feelings that might otherwise sound crazy, but rather remind me of Hans and Guna. We can agree it is bizarre and surprising - those things we sometimes call crazy, and at others might find perfectly acceptable… It’s at least as weird to be human as it is to imagine other beings. If you’d read this far, please do check out the video above. And watch for Alan and I’s work to continue. Resisting the urge to close with an outer-space pun - “it was out-of-this-world”, etc. - I’ll just say that I do not know where this will lead.

PAST LIFE REGRESSION AT THE ASSEMBLAGE: FEBRUARY 12th

This introductory event is free for members at The Assemblage. Send me an email if you’d like to attend as a guest.

PAST LIFE MEDITATIONS AT WOOM CENTER THIS WINTER

The audio/visual presentation at WOOM is more than a little magical.

Past Life Meditations Through Voice and Sound continues to be an absolute blast and favorite event to offer. My beginnings with past life regression were as a teenager when on many occasions I got to explore the rich, immersive narratives that come through. As an introduction to past life regression, I do my best to channel that enthusiasm, honesty (open and encouraging of skepticism), and creativity into the experiences that are shared and guided in the comfort of the WOOM Center.

Located on the Bowery in downtown Manhattan, WOOM is a unique place filled with extraordinary people. Created by David and Elian Zach-Shemesh, and run by a wonderful team (too many to mention), the place is a source of wellness, weirdness, and wonder in only the most restorative ways. The beauty of the people and place might be intimidating to some were it not for the sense of humor and warmth inside. I recently had the pleasure of participating in their teacher training offering the students brief hypnotherapy techniques to relieve minor somatic or emotional pain.

PAST LIFE MEDITATIONS THROUGH VOICE AND SOUND will be happening every month throughout the holidays into the winter. Dates and details below. Email me with questions, hope to see you there.

CLICK HERE to reserve your spot.

• Saturday, December 15 at 7:30

• Saturday, January 19 at 7:30

• Saturday, February 2 at 7:30

• WOOM Center is located at 274 Bowery, 2nd Floor, NYC (bet. Houston & Prince)
  

MYSTERY SCHOOL IN MEXICO BEGINS OCTOBER 10TH

Mystery School in Mexico is in session October 10th - 14th, 2018 - on El Ranchito de Arleta outside San Miguel de Allende.

MYSTERY SCHOOL IN MEXICO was created by Daniel Ryan and Henrietta Weekes. In the heart of Mexico, a haunting old world hosts a beautiful, new experience. Combining meditation, hypnosis, and past life regression, with a journey into the magic of central Mexico -- set on the wild beauty of the Ranchito de Arleta outside the colonial era mountain city of San Miguel de Allende, this extraordinary retreat will renew and refresh you on the deepest levels; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.   

Wednesday, October 10 -- 

Arrival 

Welcome. After you've made yourself comfortable, a talk and a temazcal ceremony hosted by Arleta with a presentation of the subjects we’ll be exploring by Dan. An exploration of our guiding metaphor: a glass of water, a swimming pool, and an ocean. Angles and questions, stories and sharing amongst the group. And a rundown of the morning and day 2. Dinner in town. 

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Thursday, October 11 --

Meditation 

Our focus on day 2 is Meditation. Beginning with a brief talk on the day ahead and breakfast. Observations, discussion, questions will be welcome. We'll examine meditation as stepping out of the wheel of good and bad, Jon Kabat Zinn's definitions, Alan Watts's definitions, Zazen's definitions, Eastern/Western angles, etc. The theory vs the practice, and various systems of meditation (mantra, breath, body/ mind, kundalini, modern takes, technology, meditating with apps). Since when is meditation a product to be sold? Subtracting the inessential... There will be guided practice and opportunities to guide each other.  Lunch served on the terrace and afternoon break, work, or play. Guests are welcome to explore, participate, and relax at their leisure.

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Friday, October 12 --

Hypnosis 

Our focus on day 3 is Hypnosis. We'll begin with a morning practice and brief talk. Breakfast, followed by examining hypnosis. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, demystifying and deconstructing the myths, the (missing) definitions of trance... Milton Erickson's approach, Freud and Jung's influences, stage hypnosis vs hypnotherapy, connections to meditation, hypnosis in advertising and culture, a brief history, practical and positive trances. There will be practicum of exercises: The Color Wheel and Metaphoric Two-Step. We'll discuss using scripts and prepared exercises. Students will work with and guide each other. Afternoon break; Feel free to work, or play. Guests are welcome to explore or relax.

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Saturday, October 13 -- 

Past Life Regression 

Our focus on day 4 is Past Life Regression. We'll begin the day with a morning practice, and a brief talk. Breakfast. Followed by "What is Past Life Regression?" How do we interpret the experiences? Regression Therapy and a brief history of the field from the 70’s through Dan's father's career to his practice in NYC today. Exploring reincarnation and past life memories, the nature and current scientific understanding of memory, clinical tales, archetypal journeys, Jungian psychology, Shamanic healing, psychedelic experiences, metaphysics, the tarot, astrology, other esoterica... Afternoon break. Guests are welcome to explore or relax. Practicum; students work with and guide each other.

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Sunday, October 14 --

Integration

A brief morning practice and talk on the integration process. Breakfast. Closing temazcal ceremony on the land conducted by Arleta followed by banquet lunch with everyone who'd like to stay and has been on the ranchito for the week.

Join us for a day at a time or the whole experience. We look forward to seeing you.

LIFE, DEATH, & REBIRTH THROUGH MEDITATION, HYPNOSIS, & PAST LIFE REGRESSION

Recently published in Reality Sandwich.

I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is. -Alan Watts

There’s a case to be made that past life regression is the most versatile therapy. Inside the often marginalized and misunderstood practice is an introduction to meditation and hypnotherapy, the Freudian psychology of family, sex, and death, Jungian perspectives on nature, symbols, mythology, and art, spirituality (however we may define it), philosophy, storytelling, family constellations, chronology, a nuanced examination of time as both linear and nonlinear, and a new understanding of mortality.  

“Death is not the end” says the practice itself, “but another step on the path.” Often times during trainings and workshops we’ll move right past death, focusing our attention on the narratives that precede and follow. What if we zoom in on this moment and let our attention rest here? Broadly speaking, in eastern philosophies death is described as transformation – the breaking of the chrysalis and the departure from the husk. The interconnectedness of beginnings and endings is one of life’s most overused conventions. It hides in plain sight.

Of all the reasons to engage with past life regression, it seems to me that among the most universal (reflecting an embedded subtext in the promise of reincarnation itself) is a desire to know if it is possible to be reborn in our own lives. I’m deeply compassionate to this question – I find myself asking it too at any moment. I was a boy of 13 years old growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey in the early 90s while my father was experiencing great success leading regressions with individuals as a therapist, and training groups internationally. I gravitated to my dad’s work at a young age. Of the thousands of regressions I’ve guided, experienced, and witnessed, it is not the wealth of strange and beautiful stories that have emerged from the unconscious minds of so many courageous souls that echoes loudest now. It is the child-like, inarticulate nonverbal plea held somewhere in the body, yet orphaned in the self, seeking to be reintegrated and made new again.

Imagine passing through moments of “death” over and over again as men and women of all races, young and old, during war and peace, in ancient history and more recent decades, sincerely engaging with the narratives through the senses, activating the neurology and physiology of the positive states of release and relief throughout. After so long, one might naturally begin to rethink “death” as a portal or threshold we pass through. This does not devalue grief or sadness when it happens, nor does it subtract the need to honor our lives.

Our mental health ecosystem can be a rather harsh labyrinth. I professionally regard all modalities as tools available to us. Some tools will be right for some jobs. There is no universal prescription, no one-size-fits-all, no panacea. The spirituality inherent within the exercise is often associated with unhelpful new age tropes, but if you have existential questions in need of an adaptive therapeutic intervention, past life regression has you covered.

♦♦♦

When leading trainings and experiences that explore the three modalities together, I’ll begin with a few simple metaphors to illuminate their nature and give reference points to the approach. These come, of course, with the caveats that meditation, hypnosis, and past life regression belong to no man or woman and that their definitions are rightfully many. No metaphor could ever be perfect. The intention is to simplify for the purposes of comparison.

Meditation as a glass of water. Simple, refreshing, and refreshingly simple. Contained, for 2 minutes or 20, or more. No past or future, just the wordless experience of right now. Like the glass is filled with water, the mind is filled with activity which with time (and practice) comes to rest and becomes still.

Then hypnosis as a swimming pool. A larger container. We can see the boundaries, and be part of the activity. We can explore the past or imagine the future – we can comfortably play in the shallow water or explore the deep end. We can swim fast or wade peacefully. It can be work or pleasure. Hypnosis would be the second and larger of three concentric circles.

And finally past life regression as an ocean. A source of life that is most often beautiful, and can also be unpredictable and treacherous. The waves, the rhythms of the water and the interplay of currents happen on levels we’re not entirely aware or in control of. (Like some psychedelic journeys or experiences of ecstatic states) it’s deep, majestic, reflective, and mysterious. We can lose the horizon and explore endlessly. Past life regression would be the third and largest of the concentric circles with these three modalities.

There was a point in my training where the mechanical likeness of guided meditation, hypnotherapy, regression, etc. stopped concerning me. Progressive relaxation, present moment-awareness, attention with the senses, guidance and visualization, pacing and leading, a voice, deep breaths… “The ingredients seem to be the same, so what are the actual differences between these things?” An incredulous teen-aged voice in me used to implore. It’s a good question, ultimately, and one I still respect as fundamentally connected to why we do what we do. For instance, if one meditates to feel better and that does not happen, meditation doesn’t work and/or some failure occurred and something went wrong. What makes the difference between meditation and hypnosis, and all other inner work – there in the depth of the nonverbals, behaving like gravity – is the intention.

♦♦♦

Dan

“It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.” –Voltaire

At events I lead regularly with The Alchemist’s Kitchen, The WOOM Center, Assemblage NYC, and other institutions throughout the city, I’ll often say “if the only thing that occurred during an experience of past life regression were that it leads us to rethink our unconscious fears of dying, that would be a hell of a lot.”

Psychology and philosophy often frame life as a continuous process of loss. Grief, like the wallpaper in death’s antechamber, will happen consciously or unconsciously through life as we say goodbye to former versions of ourselves. And physical death may be the only true goodbye. Past life regression, guided competently, offers a compassionate framework to work with the reflections and projections of this natural process that we are actualizing in our behavior.

I defer to the people I work with as the experts on yourselves. I would not tell you what is or is not a memory of a past lifetime. I guide safely from one side of the process to the other, and help with the interpretation of the images, symbols, and narratives. Taking what is useful and leaving the rest, we want to extract the most directly purposeful lesson or feeling. Only you could know what that is.  

The story behind my curtain is the death of my father almost 8 years ago, when I inherited his work and my life as it is today began. It feels incongruous in moderate terms, and possibly disgraceful in the extreme that there were tremendous gifts in my father’s passing. Those gifts are a testimony to him and his ability to leave a wake of healing and magic in death as he did in life. My missing him every day is proportionate to my gratitude. Thinking of the suffering late in his life, I feel my engine drain. Then, remembering the months afterwards, the tributes and celebrations of his life, we both feel complete again.

I have questions about his death I’ve never felt able to ask because he was the only one who would know exactly what I meant, and only he would have the answers anyway. The questions have eroded over the years from their original words to muffled tones and finally vibrations in my body and voice. They hide in plain sight, beginning and ending simultaneously. They express themselves through me, like orphans seeking to be reunited with their parents and made whole again.

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“The Mexican … is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. True, there is as much fear in his attitude as in that of others, but at least death is not hidden away: he looks at it face to face, with impatience, disdain or irony.” –Octavio Paz, Labyrinth of Solitude

I’ve not been to Mexico yet. I’m a “gringo” by every definition I’m aware of. Everything I know about the country and the culture I’ve learned from a distance so far. The direct thematic links of the living and dead coexisting were pointed out to me. On repeated occasions, friends, students, and collaborators have told me stories of being there, describing the braid of past, present, and future in the air, the music, and the dirt.

I’ll be there for the first time in October, a few short weeks before the country celebrates the Day of the Dead, for Mystery School in Mexico, a 5 day retreat in which I’ll be leading and teaching the path from meditation through hypnosis to past life regression. Like the voodoo deep in the bones of New Orleans that can only truly be known when you’re there, I anticipate something indescribable.

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Visit  www.mysteryschoolinmexico.com to learn more about the upcoming retreat. Use discount code alchemyinmexico for a special rate.

DESIGNING MEDITATIONS FOR CLASSPASS GO

ClassPass Go is a fitness app that connects you to audio-based fitness and meditation classes – for free! The trainers create every workout. Pair that with music of your choice and you can work out or meditate anytime, anywhere. I had the pleasure of collaborating with the team behind CPGO over the summer and developing all of the meditation for their platform thus far. The app offers a variety of class activities and content, with and without equipment. Choose from running, cycling, mindfulness, yoga, HIIT and more.. Simply filter your workouts based on class duration, experience level and calories burned, and get started with your next workout.

Download CLASSPASS GO by clicking here. And here is a recent Well + Good article.

CLASSPASS’S NEWEST OFFERING IS EVIDENCE THAT AUDIO WORKOUTS ARE THE NEW FRONTIER OF DIGITAL FITNESS

Whether you want to be expertly guided through a weight-lifting sesh at the gym, want some tips for maximizing your outdoor run, or are training in your hotel room while on vacay, there are definitely instances when ditching video and having an audio-only workout is more user-friendly and more conducive to living the healthy life. And if ClassPass has anything to do with it, tech-related eye strain and choppy videos due to a poor Wi-Fi connection will no longer be a problem: The company just launched a service that points to audio workouts are the new frontier of digital wellness. And the best part? It doesn’t even require a membership.

In a recent press release, the company announced ClassPass Go is officially available for download. The standalone app allows you to choose from a regularly updated library of more than 500 classes, which includes everything from running and yoga to cycling and HIIT. And get this: None of ’em will cost you a cent.

“We wanted to create a premium experience that ClassPass users have become accustomed to but that could be experienced in their living room, outdoors, or at the gym. I’m also particularly excited that this offering will be free.” —Dhaval Chadha, the senior product manager of ClassPass Go

Screen shot of Dan’s profile within the app.

Now, whenever you are, the app can guide you through high-energy classes from top-notch trainers at popular gyms and studios in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Plus, it’s personalized: After you go into the app, you can customize your experience by filtering via your fitness level. You can also pick your tunes of choice from DJ-curated playlists that’ll make you feel like you’re sweating it out in a boutique studio class.

While ClassPass Go is paving the way for the audio workout trend, there’s even more in store for the growing platform. Fritz Lanman, ClassPass CEO, says he has big plans to further expand the company on both the product and membership front. One thing that’s seriously fueling its world domination IRL and digitally is a recent $85 million round of series D financing from the Singapore-based investment company Temasek. Now, with a total of $255 million of funding, the next step is launching throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Clearly, Class is set to stay in session for a long time to come.

MYSTERY SCHOOL IN MEXICO

We're celebrating the launch of our retreat in Mexico this Fall on October 10-15 in the colonial era city of San Miguel de Allende; join us for a very special pop-up mystery school. 

"In the heart of Mexico, a haunting old world hosts a beautiful, new experience. Combining meditation, hypnotherapy, and past life regression, with a journey into the magic of Central America, this extraordinary retreat will renew and refresh on the deepest levels, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually."

Producer, Henrietta Weekes

Besides yours truly, my partner and friend, Henrietta will be on hand to guide proceedings, help explore the local wildlife safely and wisely, and experience the teaching to it's fullest. We'll have guest speakers, performances, local medicine men and women, a Temezcal ceremony, live music, the ambiance of the old world and more. My wife, Sarah, will be with me and on hand to consult and offer Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. 

Our accomodations will be THE RANCHITO OF ARLETA. It is an ideal place to rest, play, write, work, listen to the birds, or appreciate the quiet and continuous movements in nature. The Adobe houses are designed based on permaculture and sustainability with organic materials, solar systems, ecological sanitation and rainwater harvesting. It overlooks the mountains with beautiful sunrises and at night you can see the stars and the moon.

San Miguel de Allende

The town of San Miguel de Allende is a magical Spanish style mountain town set in the central Mexican highlands about 3.5 hours from Mexico City. Since the 1930’s, it has been a home to the arts, when the GI bill sent WW2 US veterans to study arts programs. The Belles Artes and Instituto Allende have flourished ever since, and the city has become home to writers, intellectuals, artists and foreign residents, happily integrating with local culture.

There is also some serious leftover Bohemian soul from the travels of the Beat writers - Jack Kerouac and Neil Cassidy et al. It has been marked a UNESCO world heritage site, and is home to a thriving culture, local artisans markets and a diverse, robust and progressive wellness/therapeutic culture. It also has the best English speaking library in Latin America - which houses a very charming, intimate theater where I will be hosting a performance. 

The Ranchito de Arleta

Our retreat is set in the “campo” (countryside) about 30 minutes from town, on a 30 hectare area of beauty. It is a fully sustainable “ranchito". Our hostess at the ranchito, Arleta, invites small, intimate groups to study in this unique, rustic setting - with her local team of helpers providing delicious, organic cooking, home and gardening help,  fire building and preparation for ceremonies. There is also a teepee for group meditation and ceremony gathering.

The 5 day immersive experience will all take place on the grounds, in different areas in and outdoors.  We will breakfast, lunch, work, rest, gather and play, each day.  Arleta will also offer her unique form of Mexican herbal massage. 

At night, we share the magic of pure nature, under the wide open skies and bright stars, before heading back to the city, for dinner, adventure or solitude.

Stay tuned for a lot more in the days to come and feel free to email to reserve your spot at either danielryancrt@gmail.com or henrietta@evolver.net.

ALL HYPNOSIS IS SELF-HYPNOSIS

Mozaic magazine discusses the creative process inspired by past-life regression and meditation with hypnotherapist, Daniel Ryan

by Bibi Dietz. 

Do you have a creative project that transports you away from yourself in a state of flow? Playing music, creating art, writing words? Have you ever tried to put yourself into a state of trance in order to feverishly create? We recently welcomed hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan to The Assemblage NoMad to lead a trance writing workshop, which draws on hypnotherapy, past-life regression and meditation to spark creativity that can be carried into daily life. The learning? It’s as much magic as it is practical.

Ryan first guided attendees through a meditation, inviting them to envision a source of stuckness — find it in your body, explore what it looks like — and in the mind’s eye, transform it into something new. What would it feel like to be free? And then, start free writing. By releasing that which no longer serves us, the idea is to continue on with writing projects unburdened. In some ways, tossing aside one’s notions of plot or character or voice and instead delving into the subconscious through cues of visualization seems obvious, as the best writing is never forced or formulaic. According to Ryan, writers’ block can be considered just “a different name for procrastination and overwhelm.” Trance writing presents solutions for shaking that, breaking out of the trance of our daily existence, and reclaiming our own minds.

We sat down with Ryan before his event to discuss the core of his practice, how he began teaching it, and ways we can bring such experiences into our lives.

The Assemblage: Trance writing is a unique practice — can you tell us more about the concept?

Daniel Ryan: Trance writing itself is about subtracting what’s not serving the writer in their own process and approaching the idea of writing and structure in a completely different way. It’s embracing the absurdity of the unconscious mind.

It’s about temporarily throwing away the three-act structure, throwing away everything we know about best practices, and letting it get silly, letting it get absurd, and looking at the process from some kind of new and different perspective — if for no other reason, just to be refreshed.

TA: What calls you to trance writing?

DR: Not the presence of my writing, but the absence. Every assumption you can make based upon that response is probably true. The real impetus of this for me is not because I’m a writer, but because I want to write more and I want to talk to writers.

TA: Do you apply the process of trance writing to yourself? Do you do it on your own?

DR: Yes, definitely. I’ll either listen to recordings of my own voice or just include the exercises in my own meditation. I also like to play around a lot with my practices. It’s a very different thing, guiding oneself through an experience versus being guided. I wish somebody would come to my house and lead me through meditation every morning.

TA: What are the benefits associated with trance writing?

DR: People experience anxiety relief more than anything else. That’s because hypnotherapy has a great deal in common with meditation, and relaxation is a built-in part of the experience. A relaxed brain does everything better.
How we manage stress we have in our daily lives is having an effect neurologically. The chronic management of stress really inhibits and handicaps cognitive ability, which is why reaching a state of relaxation is genuinely significant.

Somebody I’ve worked with for years through regression therapy has overcome both her anxiety and the grieving process of an infant son she lost a decade ago. But she did not come to me to work on grief. She didn’t really want to go near that. It just came through organically, and as we discussed it, she grew curious in doing past-life regression work around the trauma. Today, the memory of her infant son shows up in our sessions and acts as a guide. Some people may say that’s not really her son or judge some aspect of the process. As a person who was in the room, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that what comes through is absolutely beautiful.

TA: Do you have any books you can recommend for people to educate themselves about hypnotherapy and trance?

DR: Foremost, the books of my friend and mentor, Melissa Tiers. She has a couple of books, all of which I highly recommend, foremost Keeping the Brain in Mind.
There’s another book, Monsters and Magical Sticks: There’s No Such Thing As Hypnosis? It might be interesting to know that within the field of hypnosis, there’s this inside joke that there’s no such thing as hypnosis, that it’s transcending definition, and the reason nobody feels like they understand it is because it doesn’t exist.
And there’s a great book with a goofy cover from the Seventies called Trance-Formations that’s about mostly neuro-linguistic psychology. That’s an excellent one as well.

TA: What about solo trance? Are there ways that people can use some of these tools on their own?

DR: The core principle of hypnosis is that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. While it’s true that external sources of stimulation are always vying for our attention, the story in our heads and the story we’re telling ourselves at any given time will be the most powerful hypnotist. Even in the case of a stage show, the hypnotist is working with and choosing people based on nonverbal cues that he or she is looking for, and is going to then do what we might consider a cold read or a mind read of some sort. They become, in essence, the voice inside that person’s head.
In terms of things people can take on and do for themselves, education is inoculation. Educate yourself around hypnosis. If we live in a highly hypnotized age, learning about trance and learning about how we go in and out of those states is the first and best thing we can do to help ourselves out of them if they’re not serving us.

Another thing that’s very useful is the idea of the feedback loop, or the ouroboros, which is the snake eating its own tail. I know no better model for attention or trance. Any time I’m hypnotized by something — I’m looking into my phone, and the phone is stimulating my attention, and my attention is going into the phone, and the phone is stimulating my attention — there’s a dialogue happening.

Even if I’m in a dialogue with somebody in my own mind, there’s still a call-and-response happening. In order for trance to occur, there needs to be looping feedback. Understanding that as a model for attention, as a model for patterns of behavior, as a model for various other things that we do all the time is another thing that I suggest everybody take on. Play with it. Take what’s useful and leave the rest.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

EVENTS THIS SUMMER

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PAST LIFE REGRESSION

• Thursday, June 21, 2018
• 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
• The Assemblage NoMad
• 114 E. 25th St. New York NY 10010

“It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.”
-Voltaire

During this 90-minute guided experience, the characters and narratives that come through will be examined compassionately from the widest possibility space to include every story. We’ll begin with a talk and discussion answering any questions. Once that has concluded we’ll begin the first regression. There will be time for people who would like to share their observations and points of view to hear each other. Shamanic journeying, Jungian archetypal journeys, dream work, family constellation therapy, inner child work, early trials and treatments for trauma and depression utilizing cannabis or psychedelics, and akashic records readings are just a few of the siblings to past life regression that may be referenced or discussed over the course of the evening. Past life regression has a history in hypnotherapy and ingredients common to guided meditation. Whether approached as a therapeutic intervention or creative play, the potential within the practice is transformational.

"I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is."
- Alan Watts

This event is for members of The Assemblage and their guests. Learn more about joining and getting special access and entry to all of our programming.

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TRANCE WRITING: GUIDED CREATIVE AWAKENING

• Tuesday, June 12, 2018
• 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• The Assemblage John Street
• 17 John St. New York, NY 10038

Writers, artists, and entrepreneurs of all disciplines and backgrounds are invited. During this experiential learning lab we will explore and examine a subtractive approach to creativity and pave new pathways to states of flow, inspiration, and productivity. Whether there is a work in active process or new ideas are sought, the spark is always available if we know how to invite it. Using exercises developed from and based in meditation, hypnotherapy, and past life regression, we will actively be working with trance and using the experiences / states to write.

This event is for Members Only. Click here to learn more about becoming a member of The Assemblage and getting special access and free entry to all of our events.

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Artwork by Sara Shakeel

PAST LIFE REGRESSION & EXPLORATION

• Sat, June 23, 2018
• 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT
• Sanctuary Acupuncture + Holistic Health
• 80 Bowery, Suite 303. NYC
• Click here to purchase tickets.

Join us for a special afternoon led by Past Life Regression therapist, Daniel Ryan. Modern neuroscience suggests that memory is far more creative and curated than previously thought. In this group healing experience, participants can look forward to relief and relaxation while dynamically exploring the past, discovering strategies and uncovering resources to apply on the road ahead.

Sanctuary Acupuncture + Holistic Health is a wellness center in Downtown Manhattan. We offer acupuncture, herbal medicine, reiki, cupping, and tui na therapies to treat the whole health of our patients and community.

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PAST LIFE MEDITATIONS THROUGH VOICE & SOUND

• Saturday 7.7
• 7:30 - 9:30pm
• WOOM Center
• 274 Bowery, 2nd Floor, NYC. (bet. Houston & Prince)
• Click here to purchase tickets.

Explore past life regression through a modern lens with the hypnotherapist and thought leader, Daniel Ryan. Integrating current neuroscience with the practice and philosophies within the field, experience a journey through your mind unlike any other, guided by voice and sound to places and narratives both strange and familiar. *Advance and day-of rates may differ.

ONTOPO : Memorial Day Weekend, Catskills Zendo

Ontopo brings together artists and creatives in an informal learning environment that is site-specific, multi-disciplinary, and cross-platform.

Ontopo projects are participatory and based in socio-ecological exchange. Participants explore the mechanics and aesthetics of collective performance, with opportunities to workshop new artworks and courses. As an open collective, Ontopo’s form fluctuates in relation to location and participation. The goal is to engender a multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary collective event that merges production with exhibition, work with play, design with art, and performer with audience.

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Ontopo is pleased to present Ontopo Catskill Zendo, SS18 an overnight temple stay with Kathleen Kim, Helga Fassonaki, Jon Santos, Nelleke, AHARAW, Ai Lin, Ben Thorp Brown and Daniel Ryan. The stay, which includes group dinner and breakfast, will take place at Catskill Zendo, a Korean Buddhist Temple in Summitville, NY.

This intentional gathering focuses on the place of the sanctuary, as both a physical/architectural and mental/spiritual phenomenon. We will deconstruct Zendo temple as a structural sanctuary and devise metaphysical sanctuaries through sound, meditation, and vision. In doing so, we consider how modalities of sanctuary affect our well being as embodied and political subjects.

The retreat opens with a group dinner followed by a screening of Ben Thorp Brown’s Gropius Memory Palace and night of performance. The film features guided hypnotherapy by Daniel Ryan, inviting viewers to construct a ‘memory palace’ as they experience Walter Gropius’s iconic Fagus Factory. The film offers an opportunity to soothe anxieties around technology’s effects on the body and workplace, and to consider the relationship between memory and architecture. The screening segues into experimental music performances by Helga Fassonaki, Kathleen Kim, and Ai LIn. The night will conclude with a dance party featuring sets by D.J.s Jon Santos, Nelleke, and AHARAW.

The next morning, we will reconvene through guided meditation with the Zendo monks. Daniel Ryan will lead group hypnotherapy and past life regression. In a panel discussion, Kathleen Kim and Helga Fassonaki will discuss the intersection of creative production and social justice advocacy. Kim, an immigrants’ rights legal scholar and experimental musician/composer, will present on the constitutional foundations of immigration law and the historical link between race and immigration. Fassonaki, a visual and performing artist, will present on her project Khal, which derives from her experience as an American artist in residence of Persian and Azeri decent in Tabriz, Iran, where women are legally restricted from public vocal performance. Following the panel, we will embark on a guided mushroom foraging walk with Alberto H. Arensberg.

Ontop is an ongoing series of performative and participatory projects based on collective creative exchange. With a multi-faceted embrace of visual, culinary, design, sound, architectural, healing and performance arts, Ontopo reimagines the relationship between creating and consuming, author and audience in the age of accelerated production. Ontopo is organized by Jon Santos.

SPIRAL INDUCTION with Tauba Auerbach and David Reinfurt

Please come Thursday, April 26 at 7 pm to

• 38 Ludlow Street
• Basement
• New York, NY 10002

where Tauba Auerbach, David Reinfurt, and Daniel Ryan present SPIRAL INDUCTION, an invitation to enter a subtractive trance state.

Climb down a small set of stairs where 6 feet below Ludlow Street you find a gently pulsing environment lit by the oscillating light of a small congregation of computers running a new screensaver. Stay for a lecture and gentle induction by hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan.

SPIRAL INDUCTION screensaver by Tauba Auerbach and David Reinfurt is published by O-R-G and was originally commissioned by Kadist Art Foundation. It is available for purchase at the event and now, online, below. Guided experience by Daniel Ryan, sound contributed by Hiro Kone.

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The computer is already a hypnotic device. Staring at a fixed focal length, scrolling, and swiping all induce what hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan calls “subtle learning states.” And on the screen, what we repeatedly learn is a bent set of values including ravenous consumerism, preposterous ideas of hierarchy, gender, beauty, and spirituality. We consume these more deeply than we realize.

Hypnotists have used pendulums, repeating sounds, vanishing points, particular vocal cadences, and a variety of other means to produce a state of consciousness and brain activity marked by calm focus and extra sensitivity to suggestion. The process these tools facilitate is called “induction.”

Can we use the screen to hypnotize in a kinder way? To prompt specific eye movements, to pulse at certain rhythms, and invoke gestures that calm, or heal, or produce clarity of mind? Left-right eye movement is used together with restorative messaging in EMDR therapy to treat post traumatic stress disorder and the counter clockwise spiral is often associated with a cooling, more female aspect (though it's rarely so simple). This screensaver attempts a more benevolent induction.

http://o-r-g.com/screensavers/spiral-induction

more here:

http://taubaauerbach.com

http://www.hirokone.com

http://www.o-r-g.com

ART IN AMERICA REVIEW: GROPIUS MEMORY PALACE

One of my favorite projects from last year was working with Ben Thorp Brown on his video installation, Gropius Memory Palace. Ben is an artist working in media, photography, sculpture, and performance. His work often addresses how transformations in technology and capitalism affect embodied experience and memory. He first got in touch inquiring about hypnosis, the functionality of memory palaces, and guiding trances. He was interested in elegantly combining these experiences with a historical and educational tour of the Fagus Factory in Alfeld, Germany, which was designed by the founder of the Bauhaus movement, Walter Gropius. It was my pleasure to collaborate with Ben and contribute original music, co-write the script, and perform the voiceover for the piece. It's currently making its way around the U.S. and Europe, and will be in the NYC area soon. 

Art in America's review for Gropius Memory Palace:

Ben speaking at The Whitney in 2014.

Ben Thorp Brown has an eye for the ephemera of capitalism—the cultural byproducts of industrial production and corporate accumulation. His video Open Outcry (2013) focuses on the obsolete hand gestures that were used on commodity trading floors in the predigital era, while his installation Toymakers (2014) explores the production of Lucite “deal toys,” the trophylike objects given to commemorate major corporate transactions. His new video, Gropius Memory Palace (2017), which premiered as part of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s New Media Series, features shoe lasts—unexpectedly beautiful forms that approximate the human foot and are used in producing and repairing shoes. Specifically, they are lasts from Germany’s Fagus Factory, which has produced these objects continuously since 1911. Fagus deploys both cutting-edge automation and handcraft techniques to create its signature product.

The Fagus facility carries historical weight not only because it brings together a century’s worth of manufacturing techniques, but also because it was designed by Bauhuas architect Walter Gropius. Brown shoots Gropius’s distinctive yellow-brick buildings with a seductive, sleek style of cinematography. Midway through the work, several beautifully composed shots present glass curtain walls reflecting a cloud-speckled sky. Even more striking is a rotating, low-angle pan taken from the interior of one building. The structure’s glass-and-steel frame appears to twist on-screen, producing a disorienting play of light and form. In this moment, the viewer can lose awareness of the larger edifice, instead focusing on the geometric patterns of its elements. It seems appropriate, then, when a calm male voice intones: “It’s best to continue to let your attention rest with your senses, letting the eyes stare softly into the image.”

The voice belongs to a hypnotherapist, Daniel Ryan, who guides viewers throughout the video. At the beginning of the work—before the Fagus buildings or the lasts inside are introduced, when the screen displays only the faintest glow—the focal point is his voice. He leads a relaxation exercise replete with instructions to take deep breaths, relax muscles, and expand awareness. As a montage of archival photographs of the factory plays, he moves into a brief treatise on memory, accompanied by a soundtrack of New Age pulses and hums. He explains the process of “memory reconsolidation,” by which the mind routinely alters memories and restabilizes them to create new mental images, despite our sense of memories as authentic and immutable. He also discusses ways of sharpening memory by using “architectural mnemonics,” or creating imaginary “memory palaces” modeled on real, meaningful places. From there, he begins to deliver a 101 on the factory—its location, designer, function, and notable architectural features—as Brown’s footage of the facade fills the screen.

Just as the glass and steel begin to rotate in the aforementioned shot, however, Ryan’s narration returns to the mode of guided meditation that opens the film. “During this exercise,” he says, “the intention is to let your own memory naturally provide places and experiences that will be the framework of your memory palace.” This directive hangs in the air as the camera moves through the Fagus facility—first the handcraft workshops and then the automated production facilities, the administrative offices, and the cafeteria. Ryan asks the viewer to create a memory palace from whole cloth, but the details of the Fagus spaces invade the mnemonic architecture as it is constructed.

In the video’s penultimate section, the cinematographic tour reaches a showroom and museum, revealing that the production facility is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and tourist destination. The in-house exhibitions at Fagus appear to center on the facility’s architecture, twentieth-century shoe production, and canonical design history. Fagus is, among other things, a place of history—a site of institutional authority where narratives of production, nationalism, and modernity are disseminated. Brown is interested in the ways this history is variously embodied and represented in the spaces he documents, but is even more intrigued by its mutability. Early in the video, Ryan states that “new learning can be integrated and old learning can be reframed” during memory reconsolidation. Navigating the landmark industrial palace not as a repository for a fixed historical narrative but as something slightly more open—an organ of collective memory—Brown insists that the meaning of the place can be changed and restabilized to create new forms, at least for those prepared to see the exercise through.

MODERN LIFE AS ALTERED STATE

“... it had always seemed to me possible that, through hypnosis, for example, or autohypnosis, by means of systematic meditation, or else by taking the appropriate drug, I might so change my ordinary mode of consciousness as to be able to know, from the inside, what the visionary, the medium, the mystic were talking about.”

Aldous Huxley, from “Doors of Perception”

I’m 13 and attending a Families Anonymous meeting. The room we’re in usually serves as a communal space at a summer camp, but right now it is occupied by 10 or so families of different shapes and sizes here to support children who have been arrested in possession of illegal drugs and told they are addicts. The screen door opens and closes with the breeze making a pleasing creak. Cheap coffee and cookies rest on a picnic table nearby. We’re facing each other sitting in folding chairs arranged in a wide oval. A sorry selection of teenagers slumped over and caving into themselves, desperate mothers, frustrated fathers, confused and saddened siblings…

There’s really just one person I’m focused on. My attention rests with a girl across the room. She’s the sister of one of the guys here. My heart rate is higher than normal, palms sweaty, tense. I’m not hearing a syllable from the mouth of the ponytailed, birkenstocked counselor doing his best to shepherd and lead this group of well-intended, sullen souls. I’ve actually never felt this before in my life. It feels like a warm panic, a sweaty coolness filled with dissonant emotions. A wordless knowing that fear and joy are speeding trains on the same track bound for collision. My state is being altered by a spiked dose of burgeoning teenaged love.

I’m in the woods of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania at the Spruce Hill Rehabilitation Center. It’s June, 1993, and I have not yet had a sip of alcohol, smoked or ingested an illegal substance, attempted to procure an illegal drug, or even thought of how I might in my short life. I’m with my parents supporting my brother. We live in a bucolic suburb of Northern NJ about forty minutes from Manhattan. My mother is an executive working in corporate securities at one of the huge pharmaceutical companies that have campuses locally. My father is a Hypnotherapist specializing in past life regression with a thriving practice. My older brother is a sharp kid, but he got labeled early on as "bad". As a result, his intelligence always seems dangerous. He’s here because he was arrested in possession of Marijuana and LSD. Like most children, if I have a drug of choice it’s sugar, or maybe television. Though I’ve not been doing it with clear intention or understanding, and I am still so young, I certainly know how to leave my body. 

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There were two notable experiences in my twenties that taught me what cannabis could be, medicinally and otherwise. Both took place long before I would consider the plant clinically or from a position of social advocacy. I had no firsthand experience with marijuana (other than being with friends while they smoked) until I was 25. My brother’s journey went from innocuous habit to brown bag heroin resulting in countless rehab stints and my having no interest whatsoever in using illegal substances. It wasn’t until a few years after I’d graduated from college and could feel a sufficient distance from the devastation of addiction, that I felt it was safe to even experiment.

The first was an idyllic walk with a friend’s father along the beach in Santa Monica. Just before dusk, we’d soon have dinner with his beautiful family. We smoked and walked. I don’t remember what was said, but I remember how peaceful it felt. The second was a few years later. My boss gifted me a beautiful miniature Christmas tree in a tiny Ziploc bag. As I enjoyed it, I felt an anxiety dissolve that I hadn’t known was there. I felt lifted and elevated by the biochemical rush we call the ‘high’ and it was undoubtedly behaving in my system like medicine.

Fast forward to the present - I’m a Hypnotherapist living in the city with a thriving practice. I believe in the responsible and ethical development of pharmaceutical science for the treatment of real disease. And I have a recreational cannabis habit which, if I’m judging simply by the way it feels, is healthy. (I don’t drink very often, and stopped smoking cigarettes long ago. For most of my twenties, I tended bar a few nights a week at music venues like Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom.) In a brief retrospective analysis of my working life in the context of my family, it’s evident our business is altering states.

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Artist, Fran Rodriguez

Advanced training in Hypnotherapy includes a detailed understanding of micro-movements in body language. A teacher of mine calls it “sorting for states”. Most of us do it unconsciously when we read non-verbal communication. As I watch the body language of my fellow New Yorkers and consider my own, particularly in the unending ubiquity of screens throughout the city, I see layers upon layers of trances. Some of them soothing, others numbing, many of them rushing, a few of them still…

Temporarily, let’s exclude the most obvious state-altering substances like illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, food, coffee, caffeine, sugar, etc. And just consider technology and media as stimulant, depressant, sweet, or psychedelic. Screens are inherently trance-inducing and state-altering (however slight or extreme). In a sense, the intelligent design of the computer and smartphone are what make them trance-inducing devices. They attract and hold our attention for long periods of time. As I leave my apartment and walk to the subway, I will see more screens than my brain can consciously process. The city as organic happening always had an intensity built into it that could be over-stimulating, but in our modern lives the volume of this is deafening.

Of course, I’ve been hesitant to discuss Cannabis and integrate it into my career. Recreational use is still illegal in the state of NY. Some still maintain dated or negative views. There are still entrenched stigmas that remain stubborn, but I’m in no small part inspired by my friends. To quote Dr. Stephen Dahmer, Chief Medical Officer at Vireo Health:

“The 5,000 year history of the 36 million year old cannabis plant’s use as medicine is well documented. Attitudes toward cannabis have shifted following the discovery and growth of research exploring the endocannabinoid system and how cannabis chemical constituents influence multiple human physiological processes including appetite, regulation of mood and perception of pain. Any critic of medical cannabis will be quick to point out the lack of randomized controlled trials due in large part to its designation as a Schedule 1 substance.

Despite this limitation, medical cannabis has been shown to relieve pain, muscle spasms and spasticity, as well as stimulate appetite and weight gain in patients with wasting syndromes. In addition, increasing evidence of the value of medical cannabis continues to build based on medium and large, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials. One of cannabis’ greatest potential advantages as a medicine is its level of safety. There is no known case of a lethal overdose…” 

From Transitions, by Stephen Dahmer. Published in Family Doctor: A Journal of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians

Vireo Health is one of the only physician-led medical cannabis companies in the United States. Also leading the charge in New York is the Bowery Cannabis Club with their mission to connect and educate people on the values and health benefits of cannabis and CBD products. These teams are doing more than education, they’re thought-leaders on how to move our relationship with the plant forward.

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“…there is much logic in our being born with a drive to experiment with other ways of experiencing our perceptions, in particular to get away periodically from ordinary, ego-centered consciousness. It may even be a key factor in the present evolution of the human nervous system.”

Andrew Weil, from "The Natural Mind: A New Way of Looking at Drugs and Higher Consciousness"

It’s a challenge to articulate clearly what the next world looks like because we’ve not yet formed the vocabulary. But I’ll try; in a future where the drive to alter states is considered widely as an innate human drive analogous to hunger or sexuality, the “drug problem” will cease to exist as we’ve known it. (That’s Dr. Andrew Weil, really.) When cannabis has been decriminalized, a teenaged boy like my brother - born to the right family in the wrong town, prone to wildness and in need of a certain kind of attention who uses pot to “escape” – won’t be labeled an addict and told the disease is a lifelong struggle long before his young psyche is done developing. He will not be publicly shamed through a traumatic legal process of arrest, judgment, and forced treatment of an unsubstantiated diagnosis before his family and community. Looking back on my early experiences around addiction, the terrible insidiousness of shame is far and away the greatest and most expensive lesson. The measure of oppression and pacification in both society and the individual is incalculable. It looms casting its shadow in the background as we forget we’re in the shade.

It’s worth noting here that I’m describing and drawing from my memories of suburbs in the 90s. Not the diverse, cultural and socio-economic metropolis in which I presently reside. This is an infinitesimal point on the spectrum of injustice, and injustice is only one chapter in the story of Cannabis. I’ve been searching throughout my adult life for communities and experiences with whom I could have these honest conversations. As few as 10 years ago, I wasn’t certain it was possible in my lifetime. I’m so happy to have been wrong.

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Artist, Fran Rodriguez

Bowery Cannabis Club Presents: 

An Exploration of Altered States

Hosted by the Bowery Cannabis Club and Daniel Ryan. Treats by Enjoy Cannabis Desserts

• Friday, March 30th

• 7:00-10:00pm, $40

You are invited to join a new kind of conversation about how we interact with Cannabis. We will kick off the evening with mingling and infused snacks, and then explore the borders and influences of our altered states on one another through guided reflection. What are the differences when we enjoy anything with intention versus with a passive attitude? We will be compassionately illuminating the lessons of these experiences and integrating them into our knowledge through a guided experience combining meditation with hypnotherapy. Attendees will be encouraged to share and reflect on their most potent and positive experiences with Cannabis, what made it so, and why. We’ll talk about the simple and essential nature of “set and setting” (our mindset and the setting we are in during an event or happening) and how to carry this new awareness with us and make it a practice while honoring ourselves, the plant, and the moment equally.

• $40 BCC members receive 15% off using their March code

• You will receive an email providing the address for this event when you RSVP. You can become a member of the Bowery Cannabis Club today! Sign up here.

• Not able to attend this event? Send us a question for Daniel and we'll include a few favorites in a video/interview Q&A which we'll share online, after the event. Email your questions to info@bowerycannabisclub.com

About Bowery Cannabis Club:

The Bowery Cannabis Club exists to connect, educate, and serve the international community that is awakening to the healing power of cannabis. BCC hosts events and workshops that inspire connection and discussion. BCC also provides premium products, at special prices for members. Learn about the health benefits of cannabis, and the wide variety of ways to integrate it into your wellness routine. Stay connected to the leading researchers, doctors, thinkers, and organizations propelling this movement. BCC events are held at The Alchemist’s Kitchen, and open to all people who feel passionate about this remarkable plant. Learn about the latest medical research into CBD and THC, sample new products, or consult with an expert for personalized advice. Bowery Cannabis Club is a project of Evolver, a global hub for the transformational community.

The Sanctuary Meditation Series

For a few months now, I've had the honor and pleasure of offering meditation with the team at Sanctuary Acupuncture + Holistic Health. In my incredibly biased and well-informed opinion, Sarah Biffen, Kristin Cash, and Heather Clark have created one of the finest new, forward-thinking community spaces in the city. (Sarah is my fiancee, Kristin and Heather are close friends.) Their clinic is a peaceful oasis right where the Bowery peaks in its glory intersecting with Canal St. The meeting of the Lower East Side to Chinatown, the traffic from the Manhattan Bridge to and from Brooklyn, a dash of Little Italy, a dusting of the Diamond District... It's like having a hammock in the eye of a hurricane. The knowledge and care that this team provides out of the space are unparalleled. 

The Meditation Series is offered once a month on Monday evenings after work. It is intended as a service. The cost is $10 which is not for the meditation. Meditation is free. The 10 bucks is for the space, the tea, the time, the effort... and goes back to paying the rent and keeping the lights on.  This is one of the key principles of our practice. In the modern world, meditation is sold to us as "good for us". Sometimes it is good for us, but it is essential to acknowledge that this element did not originally reside in the exercise. In the original training is the intention to step out of the wheel of good and bad, and do something different. An acknowledgment that we each live in this cycle of good and bad, yes and no, black and white, and all the grays in between. Meditation is a reprieve from that. Something else available now, already happening and intentionally quiet.

The founders and partners at Sanctuary, Sarah, Kristin, and Heather. 

We usually start with this reminder and discuss the material for the evening. For instance, last month it was the Principles of Work, a 4-part taxonomy offering an open and complete philosophical approach to any and all work. Tonight it will be the Aspects of an Action, a 9-point flow based in Buddhist practice breaking down every ideal action to 9 individual parts. Spoiler alert, it begins and ends in stillness. 

Then we meditate. After that, we discuss observations, questions, thoughts, ideas, ruminations, etc. The evening is closed and we continue our separate - yet interconnected lives. Please join us if you're in the New York City Area tonight at 6 or for a future Monday. You can find the dates by visiting Sanctuary here.

• 6-8pm, $10
• Sanctuary Acupuncture + Holistic Health
• 80 Bowery, Suite 303

SPRING EVENTS

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Artist, Fran Rodriguez. 

Bowery Cannabis Club Presents: An Exploration of Altered States

• Friday, March 30th. 7:00-10:00pm. $40. Sign up here 
• Hosted by the Bowery Cannabis Club and Daniel Ryan CHT CRT
• Treats by Enjoy Cannabis Desserts

You are invited to join a new kind of conversation about how we interact with Cannabis. We will kick off the evening with mingling and infused snacks, and then explore the borders and influences of our altered states through guided reflection. What are the differences when we enjoy anything with intention versus with a passive attitude? We will be compassionately illuminating the lessons of these experiences and integrating them into our knowledge through a guided experience combining meditation with hypnotherapy.

Attendees will be encouraged to share and reflect on their most potent and positive experiences with Cannabis, what made it so, and why. We’ll talk about the simple and essential nature of “set and setting” (our mindset and the setting we are in during an event or happening) and how to carry this new awareness with us and make it a practice while honoring ourselves, the plant, and the moment equally.

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...the desire to alter consciousness periodically is an innate, normal drive analogous to hunger or the sexual drive. Note that I do not say "desire to alter consciousness by means of chemical agents." Drugs are merely one means of satisfying this drive; there are many others…

-Andrew Weil

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Woom Center

Past Life Meditations Through Voice and Sound 

• Sat. March 31, 2018. 7:30
• Woom Center. 274 Bowery, 2nd Floor
• Sign up here

Explore past life regression through a modern lens with hypnotherapist and thought leader, Daniel Ryan. Integrating current neuroscience with the methods and philosophies of the pioneers within the field, experience a journey through your mind unlike any other, guided by voice and sound to places both strange and familiar. 

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Sanctuary Meditation

Artist Unknown

• Sanctuary Acupuncture and Holistic Health
• Monday, March 26. 6-8pm. $10
• 80 Bowery, Suite 303
• Doors: 6pm   |   Meditation: 6:30pm  

Refresh your mindset after the Spring Equinox, to break through that winter cycle of rigidity. Join us and meditation guide, Daniel Ryan, on Monday, 3/26 at 6pm, for the next opportunity to help yourself step out of the old wheel of rush and anxiety that’s so easy to be caught up in. Space is limited, DM or email us to RSVP!

$10 ear seed and $20 Swarovski Crystal ear seed treatments to compliment the meditation.

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"... it had always seemed to me possible that, through hypnosis, for example, or autohypnosis, by means of systematic meditation, or else by taking the appropriate drug, I might so change my ordinary mode of consciousness as to be able to know, from the inside, what the visionary, the medium, the mystic were talking about."

-Aldous Huxley

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Trance Writing: Volume 3

• Tuesday, April 10. 7:30-9pm
• Assemblage, NoMad. 114 E 25th St. NYC

The story we're telling ourselves is our dominant narrative, and the most powerful hypnotist at any given moment is the voice in our heads. Writer's Block, for instance, is a kind of self-defeating, self-perpetuating, state-inducing story about what's not happening that can have in it traces of procrastination, anxiety, laziness, shame, and other corrosive agents. With the writers I work with we'll usually use past life regression early on because past lifetimes or not, the exercise ignites the story-telling machine in our psyche and generates potent living metaphors.

FOR ATTENDEES: Please bring with you one or more of the following.

• A project or idea currently in development to work with is suggested, but not mandatory. Those looking to discover new ideas will also find benefit.

• A notebook, pencil, pen, laptop, tablet, quill, ink, scroll, or other writing instrument of your preference.

• Questions about creativity, its definitions, boundaries, sources, and pollutants.

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Meditation, Hypnosis, & Past Life Regression

• Tuesday, April 24. 7pm-9pm, $40 
• Maha Rose in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 97 Green St.

Meditation is like a glass of water; refreshing, simple, and in the moment. Hypnosis is like a swimming pool. We can go into the deep end, be submerged, or stay near the surface. And past life regression is like an ocean. It's seemingly infinite in scale and depth - filled with mystery and revelation. Each of these three experiences is vastly different, yet mechanically each one is strikingly similar. Often times they are compared and considered together, others they seem worlds apart. What are the similarities and differences between them? What impact does intention have on the experience? What effect does the environment have? 

During this event, each modality will be experienced and explored. Beginning with meditation, moving through hypnosis, and ending with a past life regression - we’ll examine together precisely what separates and connects them, why they still remain so bewildering to so many, and how they offer unique benefits.