WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

Hypnosis, at its most basic, is simply a tool which allows a person to use more of his or her mind and to use it more dynamically and effectively. It is a state of focused attention, increased perception, and deep relaxation, which quiets the body and opens the mind.

In our normal, waking state, the brain processes most of the information we receive on the left side. Very little is processed on the right, or intuitive, side of the brain. The subconscious is not involved in this conscious activity. With hypnosis, the left and right sides of the brain, along with the subconscious, are encouraged and trained to work together.

The practice of hypnosis is as old as history itself. It was first introduced to the world in the ancient land of Egypt and has been with us ever since. It is not a mystic rite, nor a stage trick performed solely for the benefit of an audience. It is, primarily, a technical means of helping those who are in distress because of subjective fears or pressures of whatever kind, be they of a mental, spiritual, or physical nature. It is with this serious purpose, and the scientific implementation of hypnosis, that the Michigan Institute of NeuroDynamics is concerned.

How do we know when we are hypnotized, or perhaps even hypnotizing someone else?

Hypnosis is defined as a state of focused attention in which we are more susceptible to suggestion. The depiction of hypnosis in Hollywood films and stories is nothing like the reality. You cannot make someone do something they have a moral, ethical or motivational reason not to do. If the power sometimes ascribed to hypnosis were really there it would be possible for me to hypnotize a client and suggest that they happily pay me an exorbitant fee, and then give them a post–hypnotic suggestion that they send me a check every week, for life! If hypnosis had the power it is credited with all hypnotists would be rich and powerful. The truth is, it is very powerful, even miraculous, but it is dependent on several intangible and variable factors that influence its power and outcome.

While a therapist utilizes a formal process to induce a state of hypnosis it can also be a spontaneous process of which one or all parties are consciously unaware. This is sometimes called advertising. In a formal hypnotic induction the prime ingredient seems to be the "contract statement," either stated or implied. A contract statement is an agreement between yourself, another person or another group of people. It differs from an ordinary agreement in that it operates on both the conscious and subconscious levels. A contract statement often utilizes a number of supporting statements directed at the subconscious to increase the effect of the agreement. The degree of power we give to this contract is determined by the extent of the ritual involved in establishing this agreement.

In essence, most transactions involve some form of hypnosis. Even factual statements have a component of hypnosis or post–hypnotic suggestion to them. "Tylenol is the most widely used pain relief medication in the United States." "Wheaties, breakfast of champions."

The client’s motivations are always a factor in the success of any interventions and should be explored thoroughly to determine an effective course of action.

"Hypnosis is neither sleep nor unconsciousness but a super concentration of the mind. It explains why suggestion is more powerful in hypnosis than in the ordinary state. It is important, however, for the layman to understand that hypnosis is a normal phenomenon available to all. It is neither black magic nor witchcraft; but, on the contrary, a state of extreme concentration." from Views On Hypnosis By Various Faiths, William J. Bryan Jr., MD.

Hypnosis, at its most basic, is simply a tool which allows a person to use more of his or her mind and to use it more dynamically and effectively. It is a state of focused attention, increased perception, and deep relaxation that quiets the body and opens the mind.

You can use hypnosis on any area that you use your mind for. That covers the whole gamut from sexual blocks to open heart surgery, smoking, drinking, weight, and phobic problems. It is also valuable for people involved in sales, customer service, sports performance and public speaking.

Grolier Encyclopedia says, "Hypnosis refers to a state or condition in which the subject becomes highly responsive to suggestions. The hypnotized individual seems to follow instructions in an uncritical, automatic fashion and attends closely only to those aspects of the environment made relevant by the hypnotist. If the subject is profoundly responsive, he or she hears, sees, feels, smells, and tastes in accordance with the suggestions given, even though these may be in direct contradiction to the actual stimuli that impinge upon the subject. Furthermore, memory and awareness of self can be altered by suggestions. The hypnotic state is a response of normal individuals, but there are wide individual differences in the ability to respond. The capacity to be hypnotized resides in the individual rather than in the hypnotist’s technique and is one of the many basic psychological characteristics of normal individuals."

Hypnosis is a technique in which we contact the subconscious so as to enable us to use it in unity with the conscious mind, rather than in opposition, as is so often the case.

Another Explanation of Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a technique that allows one to access a state of deep physical relaxation, accompanied by a specifically directed conscious awareness. Through hypnosis you can work with your own automatic response system, the subconscious, to improve habits, change and update inappropriate behaviors, and improve your self–image. Hypnosis can access the body’s pain control system to raise the pain threshold. It is of great assistance to the creative and problem solving parts of the mind.

Life IS hypnosis. Even before we are born, we are being influenced and coaxed into having certain characteristics, values and goals. This influence is directed at both our physical, mental, and emotional attributes. Modern theories advise expectant parents to read to the fetus in the womb, while others adjust their diet to provide a healthy environment for the baby’s development.

During our formative years our development is totally dependent on outside influences. We mimic as best we can as we develop mental, physical, and emotional coordination. Because we are so dependent on our parents in our formative years, we tend to take literally all that they say and do. As we mature we create our own ideas, based on the results of the conclusions we make, from the information we absorb. This may be considered the development of personality. We become the sum of all of the input we have received to date, plus the unpredictable aspect of our own developing personality filtering this information. Thus we become an "individual," unlike anyone or anything that has lived until this very point. The choices that we make in life are dependent on the information we currently have to draw on to make a decision. With insufficient or incorrect information, we may make poor decisions.

When we use the technique of hypnosis, we allow a person to access the subconscious, where we store the information that we have accumulated over the course of our lives. But when we look around at the information that we have stored in our subconscious, we find that we have a lot of incorrect, outdated information, and this incorrect information may be limiting our ability to achieve our goals.

When we hold on to limiting beliefs, we set up barriers to success, albeit unknowingly. "I’ll never be as smart as my sister." "Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses." "You’d never amount to anything if it weren’t for your looks." Our conscious mind knows that these statements are not statements of fact, but our subconscious mind takes them literally, particularly in our formative years. Our subconscious then holds on to these ideas until we provide it with more appropriate information and with a way to safely incorporate this information into our lives.

Phobias are a good example of this phenomenon. A phobia is an irrational fear. A person who is afraid to use an elevator is said to have a phobia. There are literally hundreds of different phobias, from fear of flying to fear of germs. A person with a phobia knows consciously that his fear is not rational, but subconsciously he has a belief about this situation that transcends logic. Hypnosis is one of the methods that allow us to explore the subconscious motivation for situations such as this.

To the extent that early influences have affected us indicates the measure of our susceptibility. Even "common sense" does not preclude our being unduly suggestible under certain conditions. Understanding how this process works allows us the ability to choose based on truth. In this way we can truly be unimpeded by doubts and limitations, because we see things for what they are, and then choose freely.

Utilizing the technique of hypnosis to access the workings of the subconscious affords us an opportunity to discover the basis of our motivations. Even more importantly, it obviates the motivations of others. In a sense, we discover our own weaknesses, but not in a damning way. We find that we are very much the sum of early inappropriate influences that can be overcome by utilizing some very simple techniques.

A person who utilizes hypnosis is not necessarily a hypnotist. After all, we all go into spontaneous self–hypnosis several times a day. After driving the same route to work, at the same time every day, many people have found themselves pulling into their driveway and not remembering the drive home. This is common and a natural phenomenon.

Hypnosis is a technique in which we lower the barriers between conscious and subconscious thought, allowing both sides to communicate, providing insight to the conscious and logic to the subconscious. In this state we can be very goal oriented and capable of accepting post–hypnotic suggestions.

 

SELF–HYPNOSIS CAN HELP YOU:

There are many differing theories about how the mind works and what to call these theories. This web site contains some of the concepts that I have used and which have worked for my students and me. This is an accumulation of 30 years of my study and research on over 20,000 students who have applied some or all of these techniques. One of the magical things about the mind is that it is pliable. Hypnosis, more than many sciences, recognizes this fact and uses it to accomplish exciting change when needed, and allows for more abundant choices in our lives free from fear and self–imposed restrictions. I continue to learn and integrate the old and the new understandings, hopefully into useful and applicable techniques.

HYPNOSIS  SERVICES  PRODUCTS  ABOUT US  CONTACT US