2014 Solid Gold

I am just back from the 2014 Solid Gold Convention of the National Guild of Hypnotists. While the major convention of the Guild occurs in the Boston area every year in August, this is a mini-convention for the convenience of our West Coast members (and for those of us who live elsewhere and enjoy a February week in the sun).

I am often faculty for the Solid Gold and always enjoy it. Unlike the major Guild convention which has hundreds of programs, with a dozen or more occurring simultaneously, the Solid Gold is a large lecture with only one presenter at a time on stage. Like the name sounds, the presenters are all senior practitioners with established practices, reputations and publishing or research credits.

Usually Lindsay and I go, arriving a day early and staying a day late to enjoy Las Vegas. This year our return was delayed due to Chicago weather and so we stayed an additional day (there are many worse places to be stuck than downtown Las Vegas). The Solid Gold was held at the Riviera, a landmark casino from the early beginnings of Las Vegas. Now under new management and completely renovated it was a great place.

Lindsay and I got out to a couple of shows: Absinthe, an adult cabaret (rated R for language) at Caesar’s Palace, and the Blue Man Group, a fantasy drum and multimedia show. We did some fine dining with friends and as a personal treat got a table at Mario Batali’s B & B Ristorante. I consider Mario Batali to be the greatest chef in the world today and I’ve been wanting to dine at one of his establishments for years.

B & B Ristorante (that stands for Batali and Bastianich) serves high Northern Italian cuisine, which is the cuisine I most love and cook myself. But I can’t hold a candle to the quality of the meal we were served. We did the traditional tasting menu and it was fantastic. I will definitely return.

The presentations at the Solid Gold are always great and this year was no exception. Cal Banyon did a neat presentation on the Affect Bridge Regression technique, Wendy Packer presented her new work on hypnotically enhanced charisma, Tony DeMarco delivered a brilliant piece on Epidentics, Patricia MacIsaac shared her work on texting and cell phone use as a kind of addiction, Michael Ellner explained his approach to medical hypnotism. Don Mottin offered the latest on self-hypnotism in his usual high-energy style. Laura King shared her secrets for sports improvement hypnotism, and while that’s not my thing it works well for those who like that form of hypnotic practice. Wow! Solid Gold indeed.