If you were a fan of the sitcom Cheers you may well have enjoyed laughing at the antics of barman Woody and the fact that he often seemed to lack a little understanding about exactly what was going on around him. The actor took bartending lessons so that he could really serve the drinks in a way that made him look like he knew what he was doing, even if he didn't always know what he was saying!

Now though, Woody Harrelson has learnt a new skill that he can use on people as well as being able to pour pints.

Hypnotism!  It's being reported that he learnt all about hypnosis from Keith Barry, best known for the TV gameshow "You're Back in the Room" who acted as a consultant on the movie "Now you See Me 2" which is all about magic and mentalism.

Keith Barry taught him how to do a few card tricks via Skype and then went on to the set to act as an advisor. The film also stars actor Mark Ruffalo who appeared as the Incredible Hulk and this inspired Woody to play a trick on him where he made him think that everything he saw was green. He also made him forget about the number 6, a very common trick for stage hypnotists to do.

Keith Barry encouraged him to try the tricks out saying. “As a hypnotist, you have to prepare to fail all the time, and you do fail because there’s various levels of susceptibility, as we call it. But he embraced it, and we just had an absolute blast while we were out and about.”

Sadly for those who may be thinking that he really did take control of Mark Ruffalo's mind the truth came out when they were doing press interviews this week for Now you see me 2. Mark explained that he had actually just been playing along.

"Whatever Woody thinks happened, I'll back him up. Him and Keith Barry seem to think they actually hypnotised me and my recollection of it was very different." said Ruffalo recently.

I've heard that explanation before!

If you want to find out a little about stage hypnosis and how it really works then you can watch the video below to find out more...

Hypnotherapy for sugar addiction.

Can you use hypnosis to stop you from eating biscuits and chocolate bars?

That’s a question that I get asked all of the time. Sometimes people find that they don’t have a real weight problem, but that they just have too many snacks that they feel they shouldn’t in between meals.

These snacks are more often than not the sugary ones of course.

BT.com reported on one lady and her experience and how well it worked for her.

Carla Challis explained that she really felt that she had a sugar addiction.

Can hypnosis help with sugar addiction?

Like many people her biggest concern was that it would be a strange experience:

“ I was secretly wondering whether I’d find myself in the middle of a Derren Brown ­style situation where I’d be leaping around the room clucking like a chicken. Or was hoping at least that I’d unearth some buried, dark reason why I love the sweet stuff. Unfortunately, I’m not that deep. I just really like it. Thankfully, the Derren Brown scenario didn’t happen either.”

Like everyone else who actually experiences what happens in a session of hypnotherapy she finally understood that it was simply a relaxing feeling and one that everyone can benefit from experiencing.

I help people to work out what they would rather be doing instead of eating chocolate, so that may be drinking a glass of water or eating some fruit. Once they are relaxed we can then help to plant that seed that helps them turn down those cravings and what most people find is that they just go away. That desire to eat sweet and sugary snacks becomes less and less without you even noticing sometimes.

As Carla explained about her experience

“ Over the next few days I noticed that I wasn’t reaching for any snacks that weren’t fruit­ shaped. Even with cakes and biscuits scattered around the office, I was quite happy with a banana and water.“

Once of the most interesting side effects that I see by helping people to cut down on the sugar and sweet snacks that they eat is that I myself now eat less and less. I used to often fancy chocolate when I knew it wasn’t really that good for me, and now after helping so many other people to turn down their own cravings, I just don’t really think about it anymore.

It’s not just sugar that people seek craving help for either. I have lost count of the different things that people come and ask to eat less of, from greggs sausage rolls to marshmallows. Of course, it’s not just food too. You won’t be surprised to hear that I spend lots of time helping people to enjoy just a glass of wine and not the whole bottle.

If you are looking for help then why not try my free mp3 at the top of the page, so that you can experience for yourself just what a relaxing experience it can be for you to drift off into your own daydreams.