What is Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a naturally occurring phenomenon of mind, sometimes referred to as a mental or trance state. Similar to mental states experienced while listening to music, dancing or doing any activity, where you may lose yourself in that activity. Whether it be, as relaxing as meditation, yoga or watching TV, to the more energetic “Being in the zone” while running or playing sport and everything in between.
During these times we engage our imagination and hypnosis is no different. Hypnosis is a more guided version of engaging the imagination, which can result in some interesting phenomena
Ever surprised yourself reaching into the packet for another biscuit or crisp, only to find you had “zoned out” and they all gone? Or perhaps on a journey home after a long day at work, and for a moment you “lose yourself in thought” only to later realise that you can not recall some or all of the journey home? – I’m sure you starting to get the picture of how often, and how easily we hypnotise ourselves.
Hypnotic Phenomena
Everyone’s experience differs and some people are more apt at experiencing some or all the phenomena. The experience may even vary from one session to another.
- Time Distortion – Change to the perception of time ( Quicker or slower)
- Catalepsy – Immobility of muscles. Unable to move a limb or it stays where placed.
- Amnesia – Temporarily forgetting something through suggestion.
- Hypermnesia – Recall more details than usually consciously aware of.
- Analgesia – Reduction of pain
- Anaesthesia – Removal of pain
- Dissociation – Become removed from the situation you currently in.
- Future pacing – Vivid mental rehearsal
- Positive Hallucination – Experiencing (eg seeing / hearing) something that is not real
- Negative Hallucination – Not experiencing (seeing / hearing) something that is actually present
- Ideo-motor response (IMR) – Suggested subconscious movements / signals that are not performed by the conscious mind. (a way of communicating with the subconscious)
- Regression – Vividly imagine / reliving in the mind an experience from your past.
- Post Hypnotic Suggestion (PHS) – A suggestion to be carried out later once out of Hypnosis. (eg Feel confident each time you talk in front of a crowd.)
Everyone’s experience differs and some people are naturally more apt at experiencing some or all the phenomena. Even for an individual, their experience may vary from one session to another.
One thing to note is that each of these occur naturally outside of hypnosis. Whether it be having a name on the tip of your tongue, yet at that moment not being able to recall it, or waking up after sleeping on your arm and for a few moments your arm is totally numb and doesn’t feel like it belongs to you. Or you may have woken from a vivid dream not sure whether it actually happened or not.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis
A common misconception is that hypnosis is something the hypnotist “does to us”, but actually, it is something we allow our minds to experience. Like any skill, some people are more naturally talented at hypnosis than others and the usual old adage applies, the more you practice the easier it becomes.
So the ability to harness hypnosis comes from within you and to fully benefit from this wonderful experience, You, as the subject, are required to be open and receptive to it. Should you want to maximise your experience, begin with an expectation that you will easily be hypnotised and have a rewarding experience.
Power of the Mind
Stage hypnotists give a glimpse of what our subconscious mind is capable of. One of the first hypnosis shows I saw as a boy, included a demonstration of a hypnotist sticking needles into the subject. No blood no pain. A very graphic demonstration of the power of the mind. Don’t get me wrong, I do not condone this practice… It did however leave me with an understanding of just how powerful the subconscious mind is. Looking back, at the time, I like many others attributed that power to the hypnotist. Today I realise my error, that it was not the hypnotist that held the power, but the mind of the individual who let himself be hypnotised. The hypnotist was merely allowed to harness it for a brief moment.
There are many miraculous feats, from surgeons and dentists operating on individuals with no other anaesthesia, painless childbirths, to mystery diseases and ailments which inexplicably clear up. The mind is an extremely powerful piece of equipment, capable of anything from a placebo effect, to incapacitating psychosomatic illness. In the East, the link between mind and body has been know for thousands of year and only in the last 100 years or so have the Western medical professions started to acknowledge this link.
Subconscious Protection
It is the job of the subconscious mind to protect you. To warn of danger, to get you out of harms way or to automate repetitive tasks so that your conscious mind can focus on the task at hand. Now even whilst in hypnosis, you cannot be made to do something that goes against your morals or beliefs and you will either simply ignore a suggestion and / or snap out of hypnosis. Similarly a disturbance in the library will only be tolerated for so long before those responsible will be thrown out and told never to come back.
Motivating Emotions
Emotions are a very powerful part of the subconscious mind. In fact I would go so far as to say that emotions can be the biggest motivating factor with regards to change.
Emotions with a compelling reason can drive us to take action, whether it be towards something we want or away from something we wish to avoid. Emotions are powerful drivers and never rational.
People in love don’t usually seek out therapy for it. Others with emotional distress often do and usually there are associated avoidance behaviours, like avoiding a person, place, situation, thing or feeling.
Emotions can be subtle, or extremely powerful, repressed or expressed, creative or destructive. They make us human and when properly aligned, they bring joy, love, happiness and gratitude. Unfortunately, if they out of alignment, the reverse is also true.
Emotions influence the choices we make, the types of food we eat, or the habits we maintain. Don’t underestimate the power of emotions. They might not always be visible, but they always there.
Hypnosis talks directly to the subconscious mind, so it is well aligned to help implement change at an emotional level.
Consider for a moment what happens if we change our emotional relationship to our conscious desires? Whilst nothing physically changes, we are more consciously and subconsciously aligned. We still possess the ability to analyse, make decisions and take action, yet now our subconscious is working for us.
Congruency
When the goals of our “Conscious Mind” and our “Subconscious mind” are aligned, they are said to be congruent and working together in harmony to achieve a common goal… And all is good in the world.
However if they out of alignment or incongruent, a whole host of issues and pain are usually close by.
This is a big topic and a difficult one to be addressed by a recording, as the conflict needs to be be resolved for you to get relief. Seek out a suitable qualified hypnotist to assist in helping you through any incongruence.
Somnambulism
Somnambulism is a unique state considered by many hypnotists to be the holy grail of hypnosis. It is a similar state to what a sleepwalker may experience and who later has no recognition of the fact that they were sleepwalking, nor of what they did.
Hypnotic suggestions that are given in this state usually become convictions because the subject does not remember them. Thus, his/her conscious mind cannot tamper with the good work the hypnotist has done to help the subject overcome their ailment – We often our own worst enemies.
It should be reiterated that the subconscious protection is still in play and people cannot be made to do anything which contradicts their own morals and beliefs or they will simply snap out of hypnosis.
Removing Misconceptions
There are many good resources on the web which can help your understanding of what hypnosis is. Much of what the media portrays, revolves around mind control and / or being powerless against the hypnotist it is not real. Although this may make for good news or entertainment. However, what is real, are the emotions that are sometimes provoked by the mere mention of hypnosis. Emotions like fear, foreboding and distrust, impact your ability to let go enough to have a meaningful hypnotic experience. You need to work through these, educating yourself will help you remove any fear associated with hypnosis and result in a more fulfilling experience.
