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All of us here have something in common: our love for Ormond. I have been honored by my deep friendship with him. In my very busy life, I have some very dear friends that I see just a few times a year. For many years now, I have been blessed to spend quality time with Ormond regularly, usually at least twice a week. He was and is one of my 3 closest friends. Ormond accomplished so much in so many ways. He was the most influential stage hypnotist of all time. He was a great magician whose career spanned 8 decades. He was accomplished in other fields. Ormond wrote countless books including some classics about the field of hypnosis, and wrote many more books about magic and other subjects.

I feel he was at his most profound and inspiring when he taught and demonstrated hypnotherapy. During his demonstrations and private sessions he could transform people's lives in minutes. I believe this was his greatest work of all. This does not in any way lessen his legendary status doing stage hypnosis, or teaching it or writing about it, or the achievement of his other great writings. His writings on hypnotherapy were often so innovative and insightful, but you had to be there to experience the magic of his presence taking it to a whole new level. And it's his teaching of hypnotherapy that I want to emphasize today. To be true to his teaching, I'll therefor sometimes be emphasizing his spirituality as well. As I got to know Ormond more deeply, I could more fully accept the reality of enlightenment.

We were celebrating his 25th Anniversary of Ormond's being an instructor on the faculty of the Hypnotherapy Training Institute when he taught an exceptional afternoon class for our graduates, four days before he passed on. We have received a flood of over 200 emails and cards of condolences and appreciation for Ormond from our graduates around the world in the last two weeks, and more from colleagues around the world as well. But it's not the quantity that has so blown us away; it's the quality of the incredibly deep appreciation for Ormond. we copied most of these messages and has them in a folder at the front table for any of you who are interested in seeing some of them. And I know this great appreciation is felt as well by thousands of others around the world who Ormond has touched.

It's wonderful to have seen so far at least 50 graduates of HTI here today, among the 150 or so of us present. As current President of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners, it's also great to see dozens of ACHE members, many of whom are our graduates. I wish to acknowledge the tremendous appreciation given to Ormond for many years by the two largest and most important Hypnotherapist Organizations, the ACHE and the National Guild of Hypnotists. On the Advisory Boards of both organizations all along, he has received countless accolades by both organizations, including for example a Lifetime Achievement Award by the ACHE in 1988, one of the very few ever given, and the Year of McGill honor by the National Guild. But I feel all the awards and acknowledgements are dwarfed by the incredible love and appreciation for Ormond by the members of these organizations, as exemplified by the thunderous standing ovations he's been given each year at their annual events.

Ormond began his career in hypnosis giving a stage demonstration in high school in 1927. That needed some improvement. He did rapidly improve, and by the late 1930's became regarded by many as the greatest stage hypnotist. In those days, according to various sources, there had been only two kinds of professionals doing hypnosis in this country: psychiatrists and stage hypnotists. Hypnosis was just beginning to expand to psychology and other fields, and was beginning to become a career for some. Two great stage hypnotists helped lead the way, growing up with the field as the field grew up with them: Dave Elman and Ormond McGill. Elman dropped stage hypnosis, while Ormond continued it, but expanded to begin writing much more broadly about the field in the 1940's.

I credit Gil Boyne for helping bring Ormond out of his retirement and despair over the death of his beloved wife Delight, by having Ormond teach a seminar in 1979. His promotion of that event highlighted Ormond's legendary status as a stage hypnotist and author. I was delighted to discover a year later that Ormond lived in Northern California. I met with him exactly 25 years ago, in November 1980, and the three of us enthusiastically prepared for him to teach hypnotherapy with us at our Institute. I transformed his title of the Dean of American Stage Hypnotists to the well-deserved title, The Dean of American Hypnotists, which fit him like a glove. He taught his first class for us in January 1981, and it was fabulous.

Two of the condolences we received were from students in that first class. One of them, Barbara LaRue, remembered the hypnosis she experienced from Ormond in that class. I'll add, it was pretty dramatic. A car crash occurred while Ormond was giving her suggestions. He walked to the window for a moment and saw that it was his car that was hit, and came back to continue. We didn't know it was his car until he excused himself during the break. When we responded to Barbara's email, we asked if she remembered the crash and brief pause, and she wrote that she did, far far away, and it didn't faze her wonderful experience of that hypnosis.

Ormond continued writing books and articles. But aside from a couple of times Ormond taught for another school in Northern California, he was just teaching hypnotherapists with us. Then his tremendous skills as a hypnotherapy teacher were discovered big-time in 1987. The ACHE highlighted him at their First Annual International Hypnotherapy Conference in February. The National Guild created an Ormond McGill Power Hypnosis Hypnotherapy weekend seminar on November 7-8, which was followed by several more in 1988. Then the ACHE promoted Ormond McGill MasterMind weekend seminars, and the Guild promoted him at their Conventions, and both organizations have continued highlighting him at their annual events. Soon he was traveling to teach hypnotherapists in New Zealand and Australia, teaching with Chuck in the UK, and has for many years now been widely appreciated for his teaching hypnotherapy.

Those who have experienced at least a full weekend of Ormond teaching hypnotherapy, as we have continued to provide in our Level 2 classes and for hypnotherapists, can fully appreciate what he's had to give. Amazingly, he's continued to get even better over the years, and has always had much more to teach in the Level 6 advanced classes of our 300-hour program, and periodically in some of our other advanced classes as well.

Although Ormond didn't otherwise have a private practice, he did phenomenal private sessions over the past 25 years for participants of his seminars with the Hypnotherapy Training Institute.

One of the descriptions we give of Ormond in our brochure has changed very little if at all for over 20 years. "He has combined his profound mastery of many hypnotic techniques; his deep personal understanding of Eastern systems of meditation, mysticism, wisdom and healing; and his creativity, vision, compassion, humor and life experience."

Ormond's body finally gave out at the age of 92, but his mind, heart, creativity and spirit kept expanding to the end. He was writing prolifically to the end, and he completed his first novel last year ­ he was really proud of it too! On the day he ascended, I wrote, "Ormond gave so much in so many ways to our field of hypnotherapy. But many of us feel that his greatest gifts to us have gone way beyond his pearls of wisdom, and were often felt being in his charming presence. Beyond what he said it was how he delivered it, always with great kindness, humility, respect, caring, good humor and love. While we can mourn our loss, we can be grateful he gave of his magical, wonderful life and work so fully as long as he did."

Ormond periodically had some very serious health issues over the last several years, but he considered them a private matter, and we all need to respect his privacy. But without going into any health specifics, I think I can discuss a related experience. He had just had major surgery, and on one occasion as I drove down to the hospital in Palo Alto, I had become resigned to stop being in denial about the fact that he was dying. I thought I was arriving at his deathbed. Ormond was terribly weak and could barely talk. As we held hands, he struggled to tell me his work wasn't complete. He still had more to give, more service to provide. He said he would somehow find a way to make it through. That was four years ago. My God, he willed himself to life!

A friend just wrote, "I know the most refined part of Ormond's spirit will continue to live in (us)." He said, "This is not just a platitude; it is easy to believe if you love Bach, for example." So thank you Ormond for the magic of being a part of us. And Ormond, you are such a Delight.

Randal Churchill
Director, Hypnotherapy Training Institute
www.hypnotherapy.com
President, American Council of Hypnotist Examiners