Inspiration
Who inspired you? Was it your mother, father, grandparent, teacher, friend, ancient philosopher or all of the aforementioned?
For me, one person stands out. His name was Dr. Dave Dobson and he died on Friday.
I first heard of Dave from Tony Robbins. I had interviewed Tony on my radio talk show in the 80’s and he invited me to be his guest at his weekend event in New York City which he kicked off with a fire walk. That’s where people are given the opportunity to stroll across 14 feet of 2000 degree burning coals barefooted.
Throughout the weekend, Tony was teaching us some NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) techniques based on the work of Richard Bandler
and John Grinder. Bandler and Grinder had studied people of excellence in their field and codified what it is that these people did to be so proficient. One of the people they studied and modeled was Dave Dobson.
Tony said Dave was the greatest hypnotherapist on the planet. Since I was involved with hypnosis, I thought I should seek this person out.
The universe moves in serendipitous ways. Not long after the Tony event, I received a flyer in the mail that said a fellow named Eric Oliver would be in New York City to talk about the work of Dr. Dave Dobson. The meeting was held at the home of the head of the psychology department of Bellevue Hospital. There were less than 10 people in attendance.
I was mystified by what I was hearing. I knew the power of hypnosis having seen its amazing effects in my own work, but this information was spellbinding. Eric mentioned that Dave was conducting a “Fun Shop” in September in the San Juan Islands. I was going on a cruise that September and, lo and behold, one of the stops was in San Juan during the date range. I thought I could pop in and just meet Dave and experience him for a few hours. Eric then busted my bubble. He told me the San Juan Islands were in the State of Washington. My geography was a bit off.
The next “Fun Shop” wouldn’t be until next May. I signed up. It was 10 days that changed my life and my approach to life. It was more than eye-opening. It was downright magic.
Dave taught what he labeled “Other-Than-Conscious Communication.” He didn’t like the word “unconscious” because he said there is a part of us that is always aware and communicating and it wasn’t unconscious. It was fully present – more so than our skimpy little intellect.
Dave was not the touchy-feely type of Psychologist you may envision. He was gruff, cantankerous, foul mouthed and one of the most amazing people you could every meet. I loved him. He could rip you a new asshole and publicly humiliate you and you would say “thank you” because Dave did nothing by accident. His methods were unconventional and measurably effective.
I can never repay the debt of gratitude I owe to Dave. I can only eulogize him the best I know how. This picture of the two of us 6 years ago capsulizes the playful genius known as Dr. Dave Dobson.
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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