In the realm of personal growth and spiritual empowerment, few names stand as tall as Dr. John McGrail, PhD. With a rich and diverse background that spans military and commercial aviation, mass communications, and clinical hypnotherapy, Dr. McGrail brings a unique and powerful perspective to the field of personal and corporate performance coaching. As the author of “The Synthesis Effect,” he has developed a transformative approach that seamlessly integrates Western science with shamanic spiritual wisdom. Dr. McGrail’s journey began with a BS degree from Cornell University, followed by graduate work in communication arts during his service as a commissioned officer and aviator in the United States Coast Guard. His distinguished careers in aviation and multimedia set the stage for his eventual pivot to clinical hypnotherapy, where he graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute and earned his PhD from Breyer State University. In this exclusive Mystic Mag‘s interview, Dr. McGrail shares insights into his groundbreaking work, the philosophy behind “The Synthesis Effect,” and how he helps individuals achieve rapid and lasting change.
Can you tell us the story behind the creation of the McGrail Method of Quantum Synthesis? What inspired you to develop this unique approach?
The creation of synthesis is truly a product of my lifelong curiosity about the human condition, particularly in terms of the relationships or interrelationships between science, philosophy, and theology. There was a time in my life when I wasn’t very happy and had a lot of personal development to go through. In the process of rediscovering what I like to call my authentic self, which is what I help my clients with today, I delved into areas of native philosophy, theology, and quantum physics—the study of the nature of matter and energy. This curiosity extended into my hypnotherapy practice.
I began incorporating spirituality with modern hypnotherapy and realized that as I did so, and exposed my clients to a broader understanding of how and why we behave the way we do and how we get into the messes we find ourselves in, the application of these tools led to better results. Clients started feeling better and experiencing change and transformation more quickly. This focus on the marriage of science and spirituality for my doctoral dissertation ultimately led to the development of the McGrail method of quantum synthesis, which I initially called psycho-neurosynthesis. But that’s just a big word, so now it’s simply called synthesis. That’s really how it all began.
Your background includes a wide range of certifications and studies. How do your experiences with hypnotherapy, NLP, Time Line™ Therapy, Therapeutic Imagery, and EFT converge in your practice?
All of these techniques—NLP, hypnotherapy, timeline therapy, therapeutic imagery, EFT, and many more—are simply different ways of approaching similar problems. What I learned early on in my practice is that I was dealing with clients who had different values, sensibilities, issues, and desires, and not everyone responds the same way. While hypnosis and meditation, which are my two primary tools for the synthesis process, are very powerful and effective for many people, others need different approaches. The more tools you have at your disposal, the more versatile you can be as a therapist and a healer.
Everyone approaches life differently, with unique behaviors, habits, patterns, and values, so having a variety of tools makes me a more versatile therapist. I use all of them when and if I deem it appropriate. There is an art and a science to this work. The tools themselves are based on science, but the art lies in understanding how and when to apply them to get the best results in the shortest amount of time, which is always my goal.
It’s interesting because I mentor many new therapists who often ask, “How do you do this?” and “How do you do that?” I always tell them that while I can teach them science, I can’t teach them art. Part of it is training, part of it is experience, and part of it is intuition and what I call a natural ability. That’s the fun of it. As you learn the scientific techniques, you develop the art of knowing when and how to apply them, making the profession very exciting.
What type of services do you offer?
As far as the services I offer, if I had to describe myself, I would say I’m a personal empowerment expert. While some hypnotherapists and conventional therapists choose to specialize in one area, I’ve always been a general practitioner, which allows me to work across the spectrum of human behavior. I find that this makes my practice much more interesting and makes me a more versatile therapist because I deal with so many aspects of human behavior, communication, and quality of life.
I apply what I know and all the tools I’ve talked about to my private clinical practice, working one-on-one with people. Equally exciting to me is my public speaking practice, where I provide motivational seminars, speeches, and keynotes to help larger groups of people realize that we don’t have to be stuck with the issues in our lives that hold us back. Once you realize that and recognize the incredible array of tools, techniques, and practitioners available to help you get unstuck and live the life of your dreams rather than the one you thought you were going to be stuck with—well, that’s what it’s all about.
So yes, my services run the gamut of human behavior, but it’s all about helping people create change, transformation, and an abundant, happy, joyful life as quickly as humanly possible.
As a sought-after spiritual teacher, how do you balance the spiritual and clinical aspects of your work in your sessions and seminars?
I think the keyword in your question is “balance.” One of the things that plagues our modern, technology-driven society is that we are living grossly out of energetic balance. We are consumed with the material world, with acquiring and achieving, and we are stressed, angry, anxious, obese, and addicted. Quite frankly, we’re a mess.
What I found a long time ago is that Western culture—modern, technology-driven Western culture—has largely ignored the concept of spirituality. Whether we like it or not, every human being on this planet is a spiritual being. Spirituality has nothing necessarily to do with religion; spirituality, or spirit as I like to call it, is the essence of life itself. It is the underlying matrix that makes us conscious beings. When you learn to balance the physical aspects of life with the non-physical or spiritual aspects of life, you begin living very, very powerfully.
In my clinical practice, as well as my larger group practices—my seminars, keynotes, and motivational presentations—I always, always, without exception, teach and preach the importance of discovering, developing, and nurturing the spiritual part of yourself in any way that works for you. There are many ways to do this, along with being an achiever, someone who wants to live well, create abundance (whatever that may mean to them), and find love and happiness. When you live in balance, life flows beautifully. If you’re imbalanced in any way, life doesn’t flow as well.
So, balance is the key, and I never do a presentation without teaching both the science and, of course, the art. I would say spirituality is more involved with the art of it all, but anyone can learn how to tune in, tap into, and turn on their spiritual energy. When you do, life becomes a very, very pleasant experience.
In your book, “The Synthesis Effect,” you discuss creating personal change. What are some key takeaways from the book that you think are essential for anyone seeking self-improvement?
Creating personal change is at the core of what I do. Everyone, at some point, finds themselves in a situation where the way they’re living is not the way they want to be living. They may be suffering from a fear or phobia, an unwanted or unhealthy habit, low self-confidence, or low self-esteem. There are so many things that plague us as humans. We are imperfect beings, and we are here to evolve and learn. When you think of evolution and learning, you think of change, because you can’t evolve without movement, and movement usually means change.
The key takeaways from my philosophy and my book that I want everyone to understand are, first of all, that everyone has issues that hold them back. No one is free from this. When you have something like that, you’re not alone. Many of my new clients say, “I’m the only one with this problem,” and that is simply not true. Once you realize that you’re not alone and there’s nothing wrong with you—it is just part of being human—you can start to move forward.
The next thing I want people to take away is that there are really powerful tools and techniques out there that can help them create the change they want quickly and profoundly. It begins with understanding—not only that you’re not alone in your issue, but also understanding how and why you got to where you are. That’s always part of my process: understanding how the mind works and how we as a species work. Then, I introduce the tools and provide methodologies for using these tools to create the change they want. That’s really what the whole process of my practice and the synthesis effect is about.
Anybody can live the life of their dreams and is not stuck with the life they think they are. If they’re willing to make a commitment to themselves, find appropriate help if necessary (and that’s usually the case), and use the tools available, it is amazing how quickly they can go from despair to joy. That is the key takeaway of my entire process and my entire career.
A quick final note is to remind everyone that we process our life experiences through our minds, and it is through our minds that we create our reality. George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” That’s the takeaway: learn to change your mind, and you learn to change your life.
