What I mean by 'pattern matching' is that I had heard the pattern of his problem and my brain, (unconscious mind, back part of my mind, or whatever you want to call it) matched this with a pattern from another experience he had told me about, this one positive.
I was able to use this to show him how he could use the skills from this area of his life in the problem area.
My brain seems to work so much more quickly, effectively and elegantly when I go into trance that I really wouldn't want to work without knowing how to use it for myself, as well as the client.
Even when I see clients with whom I do not use overt hypnosis, I often pause during the session and ask them to give me a moment to think, when I'm more 'spacing out' than thinking, letting my brain do its stuff.
It just struck me that one of the reasons hypnosis is so good for the client, is that it's good for the practitioner!
It's a wonderful feeling to know you've got something on your side that's so much brighter than your old clunky consciousness
Roger
