Hypnosis - The most natural way to change your mind and your body...

by Carly Cummings, CH, CNLP, HYT         carly@hyp-yoga.com

Here is a look at what hypnosis is, what it does/does not do, and why we need it to improve our lives. This will be brief, not an extensive look, so you may find yourself with many more questions after we are finished. Feel free to call or email us with any other questions you may have.

The definition of hypnosis that I most often subscribe to is “a heightened state of awareness.” I like this definition best because it highlights the fact that the reader is aware. Not asleep, or not listening/comprehending, but more aware of what is going on than he ever is on a normal basis. In normal life occurrences we only use a small percentage of our brain to focus on the tasks at hand. Most of the research I have read mentions a percentage somewhere between 5% and 15% of our brain. The rest of our brain is dedicated to subconscious activities or inactivity.

Hypnosis brings us to a place where we are so relaxed that we can use 100% of our brain to focus on a task at hand. According to Doctor and Certified Hypnotist Garland H. Fross, using this much of our brain on one task is a hard goal to achieve without hypnosis because, “95% of. . . people do not listen because they are preoccupied with their own problems and thoughts.” The only way to get all their attention is with hypnosis. “With 100% concentration of the mind power on the suggestion, there are no units of the mind power left. . . to be preoccupied with problems.” You are not asleep in hypnosis and most importantly - you are in control still. You will not do anything you do not want to do and you can come out hypnosis when ever you want.

The process of bringing someone into hypnosis is not magical or scary - it is very relaxing and simple. One just needs to be relaxed and open. When I hypnotize someone for the first time, I make sure they are completely comfortable by going through a mental whole body relaxation before I deepen them into a hypnotic state.

Now why do we want to be in a hypnotic state? Well, just think about what you accomplish using 10% of your mind. Now think about what you could accomplish using 100% of your mind! The purpose of hypnosis is to bring you a state where you can work on changing your mind to change you into a healthier person. You can use this to work on self-esteem issues, weight problems, addictions, fears, sadness, stress, success and much more. Many times you are working to take away negative thoughts and beliefs that you have built up over many years and replace them with positive thoughts and suggestions.

Your emotions and reactions to events and comments over time have shaped you. In fact, according to Fross, “Emotion concentrates the mind into a condition akin to, if not identical with, hypnosis. Hypnosis may be defined as a ’super-concentration on the mind.’ Any idea introduced under emotional conditions will act with the force of a post-hypnotic suggestion.”

Think of all the times you have technically been hypnotized by your emotions either negatively or positively. You can see how powerful and deep concepts are that you have adopted through emotions and how just trying to think or rationalize these beliefs away (with a measly 10% of your mind) is near impossible! It takes years to do it this way. We need to use a tool just as powerful as these emotions to battle the negativity deeply ingrained in us - hypnosis - or the use of 100% of our mind. Fight fire with fire and you definitely stand a better chance of conquering your fears, insecurities and failures!

Information From the National Guild of Hypnotists

WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

Hypnosis and its uses in the practice of hypnotherapy is rapidly emerging as a highly effective science in solving the problems of people. It can be very beneficial in many cases as a therapy in itself. It is a valuable adjunct in psychotherapy and psychiatry. Yet it is probably the lowest risk procedure available from the standpoint of contraindications.

Yet few therapeutic procedures are less understood, or more plagued by misconceptions and misunderstandings. Before considering what hypnosis is, perhaps it would be appropriate to establish what it is not!

Most hypnotherapists, on interviewing a new client/patient, will ask the client what he or she thinks hypnosis is. Replies range from sleep, to unconsciousness, to surrender of mental powers and control, to magic, to voodoo. All are in error.

Hypnosis cannot be sleep. In most cases the subject is fully aware of communication and is able to respond on request either verbally or by signal. Nor is unconsciousness involved. A subject asked to make a specific movement will comply with the request unless it is objectionable, in which case there will be a refusal.

There is no surrender of mind or control. A person who does not want to be hypnotized cannot be hypnotized or be induced to do or say anything which violates personal standards of behavior or integrity. There is no magic or voodoo involved. Any hypnotherapist can explain the actions or behaviors seen in stage, film or television shows, where the subject seems to follow directions mindlessly.

Actually hypnosis is better described than defined. It is often considered an altered state of consciousness featuring “selective perception,” a process in which the subject (who is in control) chooses to see only what is relevant to his task, blocking out everything else. Hypnosis involves guided concentration. The guidance, however, may be guided by a qualified practitioner or, in the case of self-hypnosis, by the individual subject. Self-hypnosis, which can be taught by a properly certified hypnotherapist and learned by virtually any client, can provide the recipient with a lifetime of benefit.

DOES IT WORK?

The subconscious mind receives and retains, neither accepting nor rejecting, all the messages we receive from our backgrounds, whether genetic, social, religious, or experiential, plus all the conflicts (little or big) that enter our lives daily. When for whatever reason the conscious mind (which deals with everyday living, logic, reason, etc.) becomes overloaded, the subconscious prepares us for what is considered appropriate action (usually fight or flight). However, the subconscious mind does not analyze, as does the conscious mind, but accepts all messages in the literal sense.

In essence, hypnosis is a means of communication between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. Many human problems, habits, stresses, anxieties, attitudes or apparent deficiencies can be traced to interpretations by the subconscious mind which, when understood by the conscious mind, can reduce or resolve specific problems.

The subconscious is also the seat of all memory. Traumatic events can be buried or suppressed in the subconscious. A major benefit of hypnotherapy is its ability to uncover and bring into the light of understanding the buried information or experience which may be the cause of the troublesome disorder.

WHAT WILL YOU EXPERIENCE?

Your first visit with you hypnotherapist will, primarily, be exploratory. You will learn about hypnotism and become comfortable with it. Your hypnotherapist will discuss your interests and your desires to determine if hypnotherapy can accomplish what you want to achieve.

If you both feel that it will be worthwhile to proceed, your hypnotherapist may give you some small tests to determine your type of suggestibility, your ability to relax, your skills at visualization—procedures which help your therapist to adapt to you as an individual so as to design programming personalized for you which will be acceptable to your subconscious, retained and acted upon in a manner leading to full achievement of your goals.

From the National Guild of Hypnotists
Copyrighted 1999

Click here for even more information from the Mayo Clinic.