WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?
Misconceptions about hypnosis abound. Many fallacies can be traced back to the unfortunate early use of comedy hypnosis as a form of entertainment on stage and television. Leaving aside that rather specialized form of hypnosis; one way to view hypnosis is as a state of relaxation, confusion or concentration in which the conscious mind becomes remote or detached from everyday cares and concerns. In this relaxed state the subconscious part of the mind is best able to respond creatively to suggestion and imagery. It can focus on the things you wish to change and on the ways you can best do so, free from critical or anxious thoughts. You are, however, not asleep nor are you unconscious. You ‘let things happen’ through your subconscious mind rather than trying to make them happen with your conscious mind. Because you are relaxed or otherwise occupied mentally the suggestions given to you by the hypnotist will be acted upon more easily by the subconscious. Posthypnotic suggestions are those that will be carried out by you when you come out of the hypnotic state.
HYPNOSIS - Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia
"An altered state of consciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion; it may be induced in normal persons by a variety of methods and has been used occasionally in medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently hypnosis is brought about through the actions of an operator, the hypnotist, who engages the attention of a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous, repetitive verbal commands; such tasks may include muscle relaxation, eye fixation, and arm levitation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by trained relaxation, concentration on one’s own breathing, or by a variety of monotonous practices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, and religious systems."
So have you ever been hypnotised before?
We are continually subjected to subconscious suggestions in our daily lives.
If you have ever found yourself at the checkout counter not knowing why you put something in the basket this may be the reason.
We are constantly given suggestions by:
Have you ever bought something from a salesman and it was not what you really wanted? Have you ever responded to an ad by buying something that you had not considered buying before you saw it? If you have then you were hypnotized.
Our conscious mind often stubbornly clings to known behaviors and symptoms even if they are negative and interfere with our peace of mind and quality of life. It is a creature of habit or status-quo.
SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
We often use self-suggestion in everyday life in the form of spontaneous thoughts or observations. Thoughts such as "I cannot stop smoking no matter how hard I try", or "I’ll never be able to do this" are often powerful but very negative self- suggestions.
The subconscious mind is our long-term memory. It is approximately 95% of our mind. It is the most powerful computer ever devised. It is capable of running multiple tasks simultaneously, it does not judge, criticize, analyze or reject. It acts quickly but many times not properly. It is emotional and unaware. It does not understand nor have a sense of humor and takes everything literally.
Our subconscious mind also seems to be innocent and naïve. It wants to help us as much as possible and tries to help in the best way it knows how. However being on the intelligence level of a four year old child many times does not help us the proper way and needs to be directed.
Once something becomes familiar, it becomes part of the subconscious mind. We do so many things subconsciously each day that we do not even realize. Here are some examples of things that we do subconsciously every day.
Subconscious activities that became habits
Recite the alphabet - If you were to recite the alphabet it would probably only take you a few seconds and many people even sing it as a song as they recite it. You don’t even have to think about it consciously. However if you were to recite half the alphabet... every other letter... it would take you a much longer time because you are not accustomed to this and have to think of it on a conscious level, even though you are only stating half of the letters.
Simple addition and math - Example... As quickly as you can, answer these questions. What is 2 +2 = ?, 4 + 4 = ? , 2 x 2 = ?, 5 x 5 = ? Those were all very easy and you didn’t even have to think about them. They were stored in the subconscious mind for retrieval when needed. Now lets do one more... 86 x 374 = ? This one you have to do consciously.
Scratch your nose or sneeze - Do you just do it automatically or do you think ... I need to scratch my nose ... bring my hand up to my nose ... Put out my index finger ... scratch up ... down ... up ... down... Now put my hand back to my side.
Typing - Many people can type almost as fast as they read. It almost seems as if your fingers know where the keys are and have a mind of their own.
Remembering your phone number or D.O.B. - Think about how fast you recite your phone number or your birthday because it is in the subconscious ... now think about how quickly you remember your friends or families phone numbers and dates of birth.
HISTORY OF HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis has been around since the dawn of recorded time and mentions of it can be found as far back as the ancient Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians. Hypnosis is named after the Greek word for sleep, hypnos, although the actual state of hypnosis is very different from sleep. It has, however, been called different names, by different cultures, religions, and individuals. The use of chants, drumming, and monotonous dancing rituals to change or alter consciousness, fall under the definition of hypnosis. The Druids, Vikings, Indian Yogis, Hindu priests and holy men of all religions and denominations for centuries have used such methods successfully. In 2600 BC, the father of Chinese medicine, Wong Tai, wrote about techniques that involved incantations and passes of the hands. Accounts of what we would now call hypnosis can also be found in the Bible and The Hindu Vedas written about 1500 BC.
Misconceptions about hypnosis abound. Many fallacies can be traced back to the unfortunate early use of comedy hypnosis as a form of entertainment on stage and television. Leaving aside that rather specialized form of hypnosis; one way to view hypnosis is as a state of relaxation, confusion or concentration in which the conscious mind becomes remote or detached from everyday cares and concerns. In this relaxed state the subconscious part of the mind is best able to respond creatively to suggestion and imagery. It can focus on the things you wish to change and on the ways you can best do so, free from critical or anxious thoughts. You are, however, not asleep nor are you unconscious. You ‘let things happen’ through your subconscious mind rather than trying to make them happen with your conscious mind. Because you are relaxed or otherwise occupied mentally the suggestions given to you by the hypnotist will be acted upon more easily by the subconscious. Posthypnotic suggestions are those that will be carried out by you when you come out of the hypnotic state.
HYPNOSIS - Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia
"An altered state of consciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion; it may be induced in normal persons by a variety of methods and has been used occasionally in medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently hypnosis is brought about through the actions of an operator, the hypnotist, who engages the attention of a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous, repetitive verbal commands; such tasks may include muscle relaxation, eye fixation, and arm levitation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by trained relaxation, concentration on one’s own breathing, or by a variety of monotonous practices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, and religious systems."
So have you ever been hypnotised before?
We are continually subjected to subconscious suggestions in our daily lives.
If you have ever found yourself at the checkout counter not knowing why you put something in the basket this may be the reason.
We are constantly given suggestions by:
- Parents
- Teachers
- Peer pressure from friends
- Politicians
- Religious leaders
- Newspaper and television - advertising for example tries to persuade us to do things i.e. buy a particular product.
Have you ever bought something from a salesman and it was not what you really wanted? Have you ever responded to an ad by buying something that you had not considered buying before you saw it? If you have then you were hypnotized.
Our conscious mind often stubbornly clings to known behaviors and symptoms even if they are negative and interfere with our peace of mind and quality of life. It is a creature of habit or status-quo.
SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
We often use self-suggestion in everyday life in the form of spontaneous thoughts or observations. Thoughts such as "I cannot stop smoking no matter how hard I try", or "I’ll never be able to do this" are often powerful but very negative self- suggestions.
The subconscious mind is our long-term memory. It is approximately 95% of our mind. It is the most powerful computer ever devised. It is capable of running multiple tasks simultaneously, it does not judge, criticize, analyze or reject. It acts quickly but many times not properly. It is emotional and unaware. It does not understand nor have a sense of humor and takes everything literally.
Our subconscious mind also seems to be innocent and naïve. It wants to help us as much as possible and tries to help in the best way it knows how. However being on the intelligence level of a four year old child many times does not help us the proper way and needs to be directed.
Once something becomes familiar, it becomes part of the subconscious mind. We do so many things subconsciously each day that we do not even realize. Here are some examples of things that we do subconsciously every day.
Subconscious activities that became habits
Recite the alphabet - If you were to recite the alphabet it would probably only take you a few seconds and many people even sing it as a song as they recite it. You don’t even have to think about it consciously. However if you were to recite half the alphabet... every other letter... it would take you a much longer time because you are not accustomed to this and have to think of it on a conscious level, even though you are only stating half of the letters.
Simple addition and math - Example... As quickly as you can, answer these questions. What is 2 +2 = ?, 4 + 4 = ? , 2 x 2 = ?, 5 x 5 = ? Those were all very easy and you didn’t even have to think about them. They were stored in the subconscious mind for retrieval when needed. Now lets do one more... 86 x 374 = ? This one you have to do consciously.
Scratch your nose or sneeze - Do you just do it automatically or do you think ... I need to scratch my nose ... bring my hand up to my nose ... Put out my index finger ... scratch up ... down ... up ... down... Now put my hand back to my side.
Typing - Many people can type almost as fast as they read. It almost seems as if your fingers know where the keys are and have a mind of their own.
Remembering your phone number or D.O.B. - Think about how fast you recite your phone number or your birthday because it is in the subconscious ... now think about how quickly you remember your friends or families phone numbers and dates of birth.
HISTORY OF HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis has been around since the dawn of recorded time and mentions of it can be found as far back as the ancient Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians. Hypnosis is named after the Greek word for sleep, hypnos, although the actual state of hypnosis is very different from sleep. It has, however, been called different names, by different cultures, religions, and individuals. The use of chants, drumming, and monotonous dancing rituals to change or alter consciousness, fall under the definition of hypnosis. The Druids, Vikings, Indian Yogis, Hindu priests and holy men of all religions and denominations for centuries have used such methods successfully. In 2600 BC, the father of Chinese medicine, Wong Tai, wrote about techniques that involved incantations and passes of the hands. Accounts of what we would now call hypnosis can also be found in the Bible and The Hindu Vedas written about 1500 BC.
