Hypnosis Facts, Fiction, and History

Hypnosis

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Hypnosis is a way to bring the normally hidden and reclusive subconscious forward and to quiet the conscious mind to allow the subconscious to communicate. Naturally, the conscious mind is still present and functioning, but in a less frenzied fashion so the subconscious can come forward and reveal its contents. Your feelings, urges, and desires are coming from your subconscious. If you don’t know exactly how you feel about something, or if you do know how you feel about something but wonder why you feel that way, a conversation with your subconscious may help to clear up the mystery. One way to reach your subconscious is with a hypnotherapist. A good hynotherapist will talk with you to find out what it is you hope to achieve. Then he or she will teach you self hypnosis and guide you into hypnosis.

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Hypnosis has a long history of being misunderstood and of being in and out of favor with society and religion, dating as far back as the ancient Egyptians who used hypnosis in the temples of Imhotep, the chief physician of the Pharaoh. In their temples of sleep, hypnosis was successfully used to help people to locate hidden causes of behavior and to modify that behavior.

In the Talmud we find the Hebrews used meditation with breathing exercises along with chanting and fixation on the Hebrew letters of the alphabet that spelled GOD, or another name for GOD, to reach a state of ecstasy called Kavanah. In the times B. C. the Greeks enlisted the aid of the god, Aesculapias in Sleep Temples to induce trances that had therapeutic effects. Through the time of Mesmer right up until now hypnosis has been successfully used for many purposes, but is still widely misunderstood.

Here are just a few of the misconceptions about hypnosis…

1. A person in a hypnotic trance is under the hypnotist’s power.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. While a person is more relaxed and open to positive suggestions during hypnosis, the hypnotized subject never loses consciousness unless he or she falls asleep. The subject also retains the ability to discern positive suggestions from negative suggestions so if the hypnotist should give the suggestion for the subject to do something that is against her better judgment or moral code, she will just ignore it.

2. A person can get stuck in a hypnotic trance and will be unable to awaken.

Once again, this is totally untrue. While I sometimes had clients fall asleep in the chair, I never had one get stuck. If you do fall asleep you will probably awaken on your own or if there is a need for your attention. For instance, If you hypnotize yourself and then the phone or doorbell rings, you will be aware of it and able to decide whether or not you wish to answer the summons. No one has ever gotten stuck in hypnosis, though I can guarantee that you will find it so relaxing you may be tempted to ignore the hypnotist’s instructions to awaken. When my clients occasionally did this I told them they were welcome to stay in the chair as long as they wanted, but it would cost them $100 an hour to do so. That usually popped their eyes open and helped them to snap out of it.

3. Some people can’t be hypnotized.

Everyone enters the brain wave state of hypnosis every day. I have never had a person who wanted to go into hypnosis fail to enter hypnosis. I did have one client who was so fearful that he wouldn’t keep his eyes shut, but of the hundreds of other clients I had, all were able to be hypnotized. The brain, as you are probably aware, operates on electro-chemical impulses that can be measured by bio-feedback. The impulses are called brain waves and each state of consciousness has its own brainwave range. For instance, when we are fully aware and functioning in the conscious world we are experiencing Beta brainwave activity. If someone were to attach an electroencephalograph to your skull it would indicate that a lot of the electrical activity within your brain was in the Beta range.

As our brains begin to slow down and focus we enter the Alpha state. Alpha waves occur when we are concentrating on something and are tuning out some of the peripheral stimuli. A good example of Alpha brainwave activity is when you are watching a television show and something important is about to happen. If someone else in the room is talking, you will focus on the show and “tune” the person out. Another example is when you are reading and focusing on what you are reading. If it is a set of instructions or a text book you might tune out the noise and activity around you to focus on the book. Just as we use the Alpha state to learn and focus it is useful in hypnosis as a good time to give positive suggestions to the subconscious mind since it is relaxed and more open to suggestions.

Focusing our attention is something that all of us have the ability to do. Another good example of Alpha brain wave activity is when we are lying in bed preparing to go to sleep. Before we enter the dreamy state just before sleep we are starting to tune out the world around us and become more focused on our thoughts. So anyone who goes to sleep or has concentrated on something has entered the Alpha brainwave state and that is also the same state of light hypnosis.

Going a little deeper we enter the Theta state of brain wave activity. Theta is best described as that dreamy half sleep state we all enter just before we enter full sleep. It is when many dreams occur. You may be lying in your bed and feel yourself slipping into that delightfully relaxed feeling that we experience just before sleep. You are not fully asleep nor fully awake. If someone enters the room you will be aware of it, but may choose to ignore it and continue to drift deeper into sleep. Deep relaxation is how many people characterize Theta. Theta brain wave activity also indicates a deep state of hypnosis. Theta is an excellent brainwave state for reprogramming and uncovering hidden problems.

Both Alpha and Theta are states everyone enters several times a day when they drift into natural sleep and they are both the states of hypnosis. Either state may be achieved using self hypnosis with a little practice. There are many good books on the subject of self hypnosis and with the voice recorders and tape players available today, people who learn self hypnosis often make their own suggestion tapes that they play to enter hypnosis and to give themselves the suggestions they want.

Deep sleep is characterized by Delta brainwave activity. It is a necessary component for every person but there is no evidence that we can use that state for communication with the subconscious mind.

Before entering hypnosis it is important to know what your goal is and what you hope to achieve and expect from the experience.

Testimonials...

Here, in their own words, are the stories of some people who used hypnosis to improve their lives....

"After my twins were born I couldn't seem to lose the weight I had gained while pregnant. In desperation I decided to try a weight loss plan. After reading the plan I decided it would help, but I also wanted a CD so I bought the whole program. It worked great!! I lost the weight and it helped with the stress of taking care of those two little ones too!"

Sandy W. Me USA.

"I never thought it possible that I would be a non-smoker after smoking for 40 years, but I am and all it took was a Non- Smoking cd from Wil. I listened to it every night just before I went to sleep and some mornings, too, before work. Worked great." D. B. Bangor, Me.

"Stress was ruining my health and I really thought I was going to die. It all started when I lost my job and got into money trouble. The worrying made me eat more and gain weight and then I developed high blood pressure. The worse I felt the more I ate and then I started to have mini strokes. I was at the end of my rope when I found this website that offered a hypnosis CD that would be personalized. I thought, what the heck, I'm broke anyway, I might as well go ahead and try this. NOT ONLY DID I LOSE THE WEIGHT, BUT I ALSO STARTED TO RELAX! The day they repossessed my car I was so relaxed, I realized my health was more important and that it was getting under control. Now I am back on my feet, working and have a whole new way of living. For anyone who is thinking of trying hypnosis for anything, I say, Do It!! The relaxation is worth it."

Laurie T., N.H.

"Did both, quit smoking and weight loss, 20 pounds in 3 months and no cigarettes. A miracle, thank God."

H.F., Me.

"The smoking habit is long gone but I still listen to the cd to relax."

Darryl S. Washington, Maine

"So simple. I never realized that hypnosis is so simple and feels so good. My church warned against it. I tried it anyway figuring if so many people tried it and got results it couldn't be all bad. Also, God made the human mind so why can't we do something to improve it? God helps those that help themselves."

Abby G., Rockport, Mass.