Hypnotizing Maria
by Richard Bach, 2009

“Every man’s perception is his own reality” is something Bryan Wallace, high school friend, used to say. This book takes that to the extreme, telling a story that suggests that our own perceptions are the sum of the auto-hypnosis that we have performed upon ourselves. The book equates hypnosis to suggestions accepted. While it is a little “out there”, it is a good reminder to put yourself in the most positive state of mind possible.

A quick story about the library: I reserved this book at the library and Maria went to pick up my holds. She grabbed two, and What Every Body Is Saying was on top. She flipped through that as she walked to the checkout, thinking “that’s interesting”. A few feet from the checkout, she finally checked the second book in the pile. She stopped cold when Hypnotizing Maria was the title. I think she half-expected me to be watching her and laughing, somewhere in the library. Yes, I did pick the book half for the chance to say that I can now hypnotize Maria (spoiler alert though: I could do it before, as well).