Mind over matter is John's key to success

The mind is such a powerful tool that if we could only learn how to train it and harness our fears, we would be better off says one man, whose whole life now is devoted to helping others.

John Connolly not only believes in the power of mind over matter but also makes a living from it through hypnotherapy.

John is a native of Castlegar though not from the other Connolly family who live nearby and are famous for their hurling skills.

He himself played with the juvenile hurling team in Castlegar and even managed them for a few years until this year.

He used to be a truck driver but had to give up that career when he lost the sight in his left eye due to a blockage that built up behind the eye socket. Unfortunately, surgery didn’t save the sight and in 2005 he realised that he had to find another way to make a living.

As it happens he saw an advert for a course in hypnosis and decided to go for it.

He had a few sessions in the late 1980s in London to help him quit smoking, which he did so he knew it had worked for him.

For the best part of a year, he attended training modules which were run by the Irish Hypnotherapy Association.

He knew almost straight away that this was for him and he was told that he had a great way with people. That was a skill he learned as a child helping out in his parents’ shop in Castlegar.

“The hypnotherapy I do is clinical, not for entertainment. The mind controls everything we do. There’s a thought process even to get up and walk. Everything we ever do starts in our imagination. 

“What happens in your subconscious mind becomes very open in hypnosis, and the subconscious is where all the emotions and memories are stored; what you have learned and accumulated by way of knowledge in this life,” says John.

John speaks very quietly, very gently and even in conversation, he has a way of drawing you in and earning your confidence. And though he says anyone can train to be a hypnotherapist, there is no doubt that his own winning personality helps him gain a client’s confidence.This time of year, Lent, after the New Year and good intentions, is one of his busiest times.

“People start off the New Year or even Lent giving up cigarettes on their own, or trying to lose weight but then their resolve weakens and they turn to me.

“Since I started, most of my clients have wanted to quit smoking or lose weight but I have also helped people get over tragedies or trauma.”

John himself is not immune to tragedy and sadness in his personal life.

He was left widowed with a teenage son a number of years ago, when his estranged wife died.

They had lived apart for a while and though their relationship wasn’t good, he had always worked on being the best father he could to Dean, who is now 16.

Dean plays hurling with Castlegar, which was partly the reason John got involved with them again and the sport is a strong bond between father and son. He is proud that the team got to a county final despite the fact that they got beaten in a replay!

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.