Stacey Justis is a professional intuitive tarot card reader and energy healer. Along with practitioner training in healing modalities of: Emotional Freedom Technique, Past Life Regression, Therapeutic Imagery, Reiki and Pranic Healing, Stacey is a Certified Hypnotherapist. In this interview she shares insights to how hypnotherapy can be used as a tool in transformative healing.
When did your passion for helping and healing others begin?
I always had the feeling of wanting to help people feel better. I used to write poems for my friends when I was about 10 years old because I wanted them to feel good about themselves. I think as an empath I’m wired to want to help others because I can sense the energy of the “wounded”. Even when I wasn’t consciously aware that’s what I was doing, my desire was to heal through helping others heal. I got really serious about following my passion a little later in my life though, because I didn’t really understand what I was doing. I started learning how to read tarot cards about 20 years ago and that was my gateway to where I am now.
You are a Certified Hypnotherapist, could you share with us how hypnotherapy may assist in healing?
Hypnotherapy is a really efficient way to get to the core of your belief system and basically reprogram the mind to align with the behavior and the thoughts that you desire to embody. The healing happens when what we desire in our conscious mind is aligned with the beliefs held in our subconscious wiring.
What are some of the most common misconceptions about hypnotherapy?
The biggest misconception is that you lose control. Hypnosis is actually a very natural state. We are being hypnotized all the time – when we watch a movie or listen to commercials we become hypnotized by messages that are being fed to us even though we may not be aware it’s happening. Hypnotherapy takes you into a deeper state of hypnosis in a controlled and therapeutic environment so you actually gain more control in your everyday life and then you’re less likely to get overwhelmed by all the external messages being thrown at you all day. A Lot of what hypnotherapy really is is de-progamming and then reprogramming the mind so you are not walking around unconsciously hypnotized by your external environment.
Can anybody be hypnotized, or have you experienced situations where people are resistant to this method?
Anyone can be hypnotized. The key is they have to want to be! If someone is resistant it’s usually because they have fear around loss of control. I definitely have been in situations with clients who say they can’t be hypnotized. When I encounter someone like this I know that they really don’t want to change even if they say they do. True change and healing can only happen when someone is a willing participant.
What have you found are the more popular aspects that clients seek advice on and is there a certain area that you specialize in?
A lot of clients really love the tarot cards and the “reading” part of my sessions. I think it’s because people want to know what’s going to happen next. We are wired to want to know outcomes so if I can give them insight into their future they feel hope that everything is going to be okay and then they give themselves permission to worry less and feel more joy while they work toward their goals.
When it comes to health and wellness are there any other practices you use personally to maintain your self-care?
Creativity is really important to me. I love to sing and write music so I make sure I follow my passion for creating and working with sound. It helps me be in the moment. Meditation and exercise are also very important for my mental health. The more I stay connected to my body and my higher self the more grounded and centered I feel as I move through my day.
In your experience in working with people, what would you say is the number one thing that holds most people back from living the fulfilling life they would like to live?
I would say definitely the number one thing is mental programming from childhood. Our beliefs are basically handed down to us and we don’t have a personal say in what we choose to believe until “it’s too late”. Our family, community and culture shape our minds and many people walk through life not even realizing they have a choice about what their own relationship is to what they are experiencing in their lives. What they were taught was “the truth” may not really be true for them. Carving out our own way in life can feel really lonely and even wrong when it’s counter to what the “norm” suggests is the way to go. It’s a courageous thing to decide for ourselves what we want out of life and actually go for it in spite of what others opinions and projections might be.
What is the most rewarding part of your profession?
Everything about what I do is so rewarding! I think the best part is when a client that I have been working with for a while has a breakthrough and is able to manifest something that they want so badly. When a woman comes to me and has a broken heart because of a bad break up or she is feeling defeated because she can’t seem to manifest the perfect job or loving relationship, and then after working together for a time she begins to experience the love that she wanted or her career comes into alignment with what she desires, that’s when I feel most satisfied.
