Introductory Note
This note presents some basic facts about hypnosis and hypnotherapy and attempts to answer some frequently asked questions (FAQs). By reading this note you would get accurate information about the supposedly mysterious subject of hypnosis
Lead easeful & joyful life
To lead an easeful and joyful life, you have to create synergy with your subconscious. Research proves when people are dissociated from their subconscious parts of their minds; they often get into trouble which includes stress, low internal states apparently for no reasons.
Special abilities of human beings:Human beings are endowed with special abilities to be
- Aware of themselves,
- Aware of most of their behaviors, and
- Act often in accordance with what they think.
When compared with other living animals, it is self-evident that these abilities are certainly more pronounced amongst human beings.
However, as we know from our everyday living experiences, that most humans are -
- Not ‘fully’ aware of all their thoughts and behaviors, and
- Not ‘fully’ aware of the basis (reasons) of all their behaviors and actions.
Most of our behaviors and thoughts are actually conditioned responses due to our past experiences and our responses to those experiences. A conditioned response is when a person responds almost automatically to external or internal stimuli. Such conditioned responses are often the result of intense emotional experiences (trauma/falling in love) or habits inculcated over a period of time.
It is also correct to state that almost all current behavioral patterns of a human being are the results of his/her past. If a certain event had not occurred in a specific manner in a person’s life and if the person had not stored, interpreted, and responded to that event in that specific manner, then he/she perhaps would have been somewhat different person in some way. Such differences are visible in people’s behaviors and their thinking patterns.
Based upon this well known fact, we can safely state that all our perceived strengths are the results of our past success in specific contexts and situations. Similarly all our perceived limitations (weaknesses) are the result of our past failures in specific contexts and situations.
Ever wondered: “Why do I act this way?” The Unknown Reasons for our behaviors:As per recent research, most of us lose awareness of all the events that happen to us from day to day, and in the process we also forget our decisions/interpretations made at those points of time. That is why many of us wonder why we act in some specific manners even if we do not want to act in those ways. Many of us have experienced those states of helplessness, when we did not want to act in some ways, but we somehow acted (without our conscious desire). Similarly we wanted to act in some specific ways but we could not (even if we consciously so desired).
The unconscious as the storage of data and the reasons:Using the jargon of hypnosis, it is stated that the reasons for most of our behaviors lie in our unconscious (meaning that these reasons lie outside our awareness, now). We may however become aware of some such reasons some time in life, during our reflective moments, or reading a novel/story/anecdote or watching a movie or hearing news.
Since what lies outside conscious awareness is difficult to be controlled and changed, this is where hypnosis as a process helps us humans.
Basics of Hypnosis
What is Hypnosis?
The word ‘hypnosis’ is derived from the word Hypnos (Greek god of Sleep). So in simple terms ‘hypnosis’ is a sleep like state which could be used for healing and therapy of self and others.
Why Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a set of tools for communicating with our unconscious (subconscious) parts of our minds. Also we get tools of communicating with the unconscious (sub-conscious) parts of other people too.
To communicate with ones or other’s sub-conscious one has to create a specific internal state. In our everyday waking states we can not often communicate effectively with our subconscious due to the way our brain works. Neuro-scientists have now pronounced that brain produces special kinds of brain waves when a person begins to relax and access his/her sub-conscious thinking. That is why most of our conscious decisions of personal growth and change, or our resolutions do not work.
Creating these specific states which allow us to listen and talk with our sub-conscious is the hallmark of hypnosis.
Everyday hypnotic states:
Few phrases which are used for hypnotic states are: trance and ‘altered states of consciousnesses’.
During daily living all of us go into different states of consciousness. Have you seen someone driving his car while mentally being somewhere else? This is called ‘driving trance’, in lighter vein. Have you noticed that you may be doing something very routine while mentally being somewhere else? This is called ‘absent minded trance’, again in lighter vein. In both the above examples, the person was in ‘altered state of consciousness’ and hence in ‘hypnotic’ state.
Hence hypnosis is a naturally occurring state. As a hypnotist you can use this naturally occurring state to help your client to get the result he/she wants.
By being aware of your own altered states you can take better charge of your mind and thereby your own actions.
Using Hypnosis?
By communicating with our own sub-conscious minds we are able to discover those reasons which could be behind our dysfunctional thoughts / behaviors. We also find ways to go ahead and make some changes in our sub-conscious in such a manner so that we can begin to think and act in ways to help us improve our effectiveness, and our states of well being. In this way we can learn to help ourselves and others in order to improve our quality of lives. We can also use hypnosis to program our future behaviors to help us achieve better success in desired areas.
Benefits of being in touch with your sub-conscious mind:
By being in touch with your sub-conscious you would be able to:
- Direct your mind and body towards the desired goals you have
- Understand your hidden resistances better and overcome/circumvent these. Often these hidden/unknown resistances do not allow a person to achieve very simple goals which seemingly seems so easy.
- Feel more synergy and congruence within, a state which Neuro-scientists are calling states of ‘flow’ and ‘well being’. Dr. Deepak Chopra in his bestselling book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success mentions the Law of Least Effort. By having better synergy with your sub-conscious you would begin to reap the benefits of this law as well.
Basics of Hypnotherapy
What is Hypnotherapy?
When the process of hypnosis is applied for therapeutic and healing purposes it is called hypnotherapy. (In simple words, the word therapy means to ‘clean the system’).
How does Hypnotherapy works?
In altered states of consciousness, a client is temporarily free from the limitations imposed by the conscious mind. A person in fact is more imaginative, more creative and his senses word better during hypnosis. Great authors, artists, musicians, players, all put themselves in to heightened altered states and produce art of extraordinary quality which they can never consciously reproduce. If you ask any of these artists, they would often say that the art happens, the music comes through, the dance movements create themselves, the character in the story/novel speak themselves and guide the author. All of these are examples of altered states of consciousness.
Therefore, in trance/hypnotic states, a person is more open and receptive to new worldviews and therefore more willing to experiment, at least in imagination, with new behaviors.
Thus during hypnosis when the therapist gives suggestions of such change, which are congruent with the client’s model of the world, the client receives these, and these go into his/her subconscious and helps the client make the necessary changes.
Since the sub-conscious mind has more power than the conscious mind, the suggestions implanted in the sub-conscious will have more impact than any conscious level thinking. That is why most people do not find much benefit from new- year resolutions.
Similarly, during self-hypnosis if you give yourself suggestions (known as autosuggestion, affirmations, active imagination, etc) you are working with your subconscious mind and helping yourself achieve the changes you desire. However, self hypnosis has a limitation, because many people may not be objective when it comes to understanding their own issues and therefore may need help of a trained hypnotherapist.
Who does and does not need therapy?
Since most of us have some thought patterns that impact us negatively, most of us need therapy. Often therapy happens naturally in our growth process due to our daily experiences (just recollect how you have already changed in useful manner in the past five years and in the past one year). However, some of us get stuck in some situations and can not get rid of those memories, impact of those events and so on.
Only those who do not want pursue personal growth consciously, do not need to learn hypnosis or do self- therapy.
Does the hypnotherapist/hypnotist have control over the client’s mind?
There is a belief among uninitiated that a hypnotist controls the mind of the client, and therefore can force him/her to do actions which the client may not do. This is a myth spread by films, literature and folklore.
A client will never do anything he/she does not want to do. Many times, during stage shows of hypnosis, a person may do very funny actions. The reason behind is that the client is using excuse of being in hypnotic state to do such actions which he perhaps always wanted to do but consciously never could muster enough courage, and now he can surely blame the hypnotist for his behavior.
A stage hypnotist though cleverly chooses his subjects (he does not actually choose every one even out of those who volunteer), such subjects who in his opinion will be willing to carry out actions which are funny. These subjects often display their willingness to do such acts by their eagerness and other non-verbal gestures.
The fact is that a client will never take any such suggestion from the hypnotist which does not match the value system of the client. Hence the client is always in control.
A well trained hypnotist knows this and will offer only those suggestions which match the client’s model of the world and therefore help the client achieve the success he/she so desires.
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