You always notice afterward.
- I pick up my phone for one thing, and twenty minutes later I’m somewhere else.
- I say yes, and while I’m saying it I already know it’s a no.
- We’re arguing, and halfway through the sentence I already know how it ends.
- I put off the thing that matters, and meanwhile I tidy up everything else.
- I hear myself answering the way people answered in the house I grew up in.
- I turn off the light, and my mind turns the whole day back on.
If even one of them is yours, you already know what we’re talking about.
It’s called autopilot.
We are children of habit. How we answer, how we react, even how we breathe: the mind learns something once and then repeats it, because repeating takes less effort than choosing. It’s an intelligence that protects us and saves our energy. Meanwhile, though, it’s the one driving.
Much of it we received early, from family, from school, from the world around us. It’s an inheritance we all share. And one day you notice you’re on a train that left before you could choose where it was going.
Listen to Paolo · 3:35
Living in trance, and what “spiritual” means
From a conversation recorded in June 2026, with subtitles.
Once you see what you’ve learned to do automatically, you can start choosing.
Spiritual Self-Hypnosis stops the train.
Paolo calls autopilot a trance: your attention narrows and things run on their own. Trance grows out of repetition, and it dissolves when the pattern is interrupted. In Spiritual Self-Hypnosis you go into trance on purpose for a few minutes, and you use it to stop the train, see where it’s going and ask yourself why.
You stay in charge
You stay present, you know where you are, and you’re the one who chooses. Attention is the one thing you truly have power over, and here you learn to move it from mechanical to deliberate.
Why spiritual
For Paolo, spiritual means giving meaning to what you live: who you are, where you come from, where you’re going. In Spiritual Self-Hypnosis you listen to the images, sensations and words of your inner world, and look for their meaning.
Thursday, November 12: 2 hours with Paolo
- Paolo introduces Spiritual Self-HypnosisHe explains what it is and how he has used hypnosis for 40 years, on himself and with the people he works with.
- You ask your questionsYou can ask anything you’re curious about, even the simplest things, out loud or in the chat, and Paolo answers live.
- You take part as you likeYou can simply listen, with your camera on or off, from a computer or a phone.
- You can watch it againOn Friday morning we’ll email the recording to everyone who signed up.
40 years of experience, starting with himself
Paolo Rivosecchi, also known as Anaconda Papaya, began his spiritual search in his teens, through Buddhism and the Vedas, Transcendental Meditation, Gurdjieff’s teachings, Theosophy, Psychosynthesis and Transpersonal Psychology. In his twenties he became a Sivananda Yoga teacher and received Brahminical initiation in the Bhakti-Vaishnava lineage. After a decade as a wandering monk across Europe, India, Canada and the United States, he founded a Yoga & Meditation Center in Milan in 1988.
In the U.S. he trained and certified in Ericksonian Hypnosis & NLP and as a Master Hypnotist. He then lived and worked for almost 30 years in the Federation of Damanhur Communities, where he taught hypnosis and, until 2022, served as Director of International Relations.
Since the 1990s he has taught the “Yoga of Communication” known as the Harmonic Circle, a practical path for awakening through presence and relationship. Today this work has grown into Harmonic Circle, where he continues to teach and to train new facilitators and coaches.
In their words
These words come from people who have worked with Paolo in hypnosis and coaching sessions. Others practice with him in the Harmonic Circle, the weekly practice for self-mastery, and some are translated from Italian.
“It reconnected me with a part of myself that had long been forgotten — a part that felt dormant, waiting to awaken. … It now lives within me as a sanctuary I can return to whenever I need to feel grounded, empowered, connected, or simply reminded to trust.”
“I started to recognise and let go of learned, often unconscious patterns that were never part of my authentic self, but that I kept mistaking for “me”. I am something else.”
“His coaching, deep insight and sincere attention allowed me to know myself better, understand my negative emotions, see my attachments and be honest with myself — or get over any tendency to lie to myself.”
“Rather than offering answers in a conventional sense, he holds a clear and coherent field where your own truth can surface.”
“Your guidance and encouragement have meant so much to me, and I truly appreciate all the time you invested in helping me succeed. Hypnosis is the best tool, genuinely.”
“I came to him as a young adult woman — confused, fatigued, and lacking a healthy sense of self. Through his guidance and steady, achievable work together, I've gained inner insight, compassion and love towards myself.”
“Thanks to Paolo Rivosecchi I'm learning to stop, to give myself attention and time, to go down inside myself, to recognise and find myself, and to listen to what I truly want.”
“I was amazed at how a simple statement — "I am not my body, not my emotions, not my thoughts" — lets me understand things I'd read before at a different level. Practising divided attention, I notice the content of my thoughts, when I judge, when I lose patience.”
“It allowed me to switch seats, from co-driver to driver's seat: to know myself closely and observe my communications, internally and with others, with empathy and kindness.”
“It helped bring the unconscious into consciousness and provides a framework for self-study, self-observation and self-mastery. … Paolo Rivosecchi is an amazing teacher who guides while allowing independence and trust in ourselves and the process.”
“Mainly, the way I see myself, others, and life has shifted — and so I experience it with more lightness and drive. … An ability to tame my monkey brain.”
“I was able to identify negative emotions that were sneaking below the radar, making my life less enjoyable. My relationships with the people close to me improved during the course.”
“The tools provided, and the form in which they are applied, allow me to perceive the changes happening, to see how the observer is shining through. Becoming who I am is what this course is providing me.”
“One of the deepest gifts has been the mirrors I received from others, reflecting my strengths as well as my blind spots. … The Harmonic Circle did not only give me teachings; it gave me a way of living.”
“This was different from any video class I'd ever taken — I felt supported. My daily life became more aware, observant and connected.”
“Taking part in the Circle is letting me "get serious" about a series of practices I had started many times but abandoned soon after. This work is giving me a continuity unknown to me”
The rest, in full, on paolorivosecchi.com and in the community.
Why come
If one of those sentences was yours
Paolo, who has studied it for 40 years, explains how autopilot works and where you can start to stop it.
If hypnosis makes you curious, or a little uneasy
Paolo talks about hypnosis in his own words, without the clichés of films and stage shows, and answers whatever you ask.
If you’re thinking about the course
You’ll meet Paolo and get a sense of whether the course is right for you before you decide.
The evening is free. The next step is the 3-evening course, where you learn and practice Spiritual Self-Hypnosis, and you’ll find it below. It’s a way of exploring yourself, not a treatment: if you’re being treated for a psychological condition, talk with the person treating you first.
The next step · the course, an introduction to the School of Spiritual Hypnosis
3 evenings to build a practice of your own
Starting November 19, Paolo guides you live on Zoom for 3 Thursday evenings. By the end you’ll have your own 10–15 minute Spiritual Self-Hypnosis sequence, and you’ll know how to do it on your own whenever you need it.
- Nov 19Going into trance
- Nov 26Listening to your inner world
- Dec 3Creating your practice
On the course page you’ll find the program evening by evening, the price and how to sign up.
Questions
How do I join?
With the Zoom link we’ll email you the day before and again an hour before. You can join from your computer or your phone.
What do I need?
All you need is an internet connection and a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for 2 hours.
Will we go into trance at the free introduction?
No. At this evening Paolo introduces Spiritual Self-Hypnosis and answers your questions, while trance is something you learn in the course, starting from the first evening.
Is it like stage hypnosis?
No. On stage, someone else is directing other people, whereas here you use trance yourself, on yourself, and you stay present.
Do I lose control in Spiritual Self-Hypnosis?
No. You stay present and know where you are, and you’re the one who notices and chooses.
Do I need to have done hypnosis before?
No. You start from zero, even if you’ve never tried hypnosis.
Is it hypnotherapy?
No. It’s hypnosis for self-discovery, with no therapeutic or psychological aims, and it doesn’t lead to a certification. If you’re looking for treatment, please see a health professional.
Is hypnosis dangerous?
Trance is a natural state: you go in and out of it every day, every time you run on autopilot. If you’re being treated for a psychological condition, talk with the person treating you first.
What if I’m busy on the 12th?
Sign up anyway: on Friday morning we’ll email you the recording, and it will be on this page too.
Will you email me afterward?
Yes. You’ll get the confirmation, the link the day before and an hour before, and then the recording. After that we’ll write now and then with news from the Harmonic Circle, the weekly practice for self-mastery. You can unsubscribe with one click from any email.
What time is it where I live?
7:00 PM Italian time is 1:00 PM in New York, 10:00 AM in Los Angeles and 6:00 PM in London. Under the date at the top you’ll also see your own time.