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What is Hypnosis?
Someone once asked Thomas Edison, “What is electricity?”
To which he replied, “Electricity is, use it!”
It’s not necessary to know how electricity works to turn on a light, and the same can be said about hypnosis. We know it works, but we may not know how.
Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness – your concentration is focused and you have a higher susceptibility to suggestions that are acceptable to you. The basic principles of hypnosis are:
- relaxation
- concentration
- suggestion and
- repetition.
It is all about the mind, and training it to do what you want it to do.
What are the Keys to Open the Doors for Change?
How we use the mind will make life easier or harder. The following are keys to bringing about change:
- Manage your mind by calming it down and relaxing.
- Where attention goes energy flows.
- Expect hypnotherapy to work and it can work.
- Believe it to work for you and it will.
- As you imagine so you become – imagine and visualise and your mind will create what you want.
Practise focusing your mind daily – it only takes five minutes and you are on your way to achieving your goals.
What Does it Feel Like to be Hypnotised?
When you feel so relaxed you are in a natural state of hypnosis. You know that feeling you get when you are drifting off to sleep at night when you feel so comfortable? You can hear someone speak and you can choose to either wake up all the way or drift back into sleep. You are in an altered state at that point and can decide to sleep or wake up all the way into a conscious state.
The same is true for hypnosis. It is a natural state that we go in and out of many times throughout the day. Hypnotherapy is an education–communication process with our mind that allows our conscious and subconscious minds to believe the same message.
Have you ever been so absorbed whilst on the computer that you don’t hear what someone says? Or, you have ever missed the turn off when driving because you were thinking of something else? The child who stops crying and feeling pain when told that a kiss would make it better. Have you ever known anyone who, injured in a sports game, continues playing and only feels the pain once the game has ended? These are all examples of altered states or forms of hypnosis.
During hypnosis you learn to relax deeply, the body and conscious mind are in a relaxed neutral state while the subconscious mind remains awake and receptive to suggestion. You are taught to pay attention to and concentrate carefully by accepting and responding to suggestions that are just right for you.
Hypnotherapy Benefits
- Hypnotherapy provides you with the tools for positive change to find solutions to self-sabotaging habits thoughts and feelings
- Hypnotherapy leads to peace of mind and control of negative behaviours.
Most people admit they know little about hypnosis. You might think it is magical, mystical or supernatural, or think of a stage hypnotist who will control your mind. Some believe that hypnosis can assist you to reach your desired goals, improve performance, confidence and self-esteem. Despite what people say, HYPNOSIS WORKS and is an effective and efficient tool to help you to reach your full potential and your goals.
The Conscious Mind and the Subconscious Mind
Your conscious mind is the logical, thinking mind. It knows time and structure, that 2 + 2 = 4, that there are 24 hours in a day, 12 months in a year, and so on. Willpower and temporary memory reside here. It says “I should lose weight,” or “I should stop smoking,” or “I should not be afraid of flying.”
The subconscious mind contains your permanent memory. It is a “feelings” mind and responds to imagination. It is responsible for your emotions, habits, feelings and instincts. It automatically controls your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and other bodily functions. It is concerned with actualising your deepest desires and expectations, even if these differ from your logical mind.
The subconscious mind does not differentiate between fear and a desire and whatever dominates your thinking the subconscious mind will bring into reality.
“As you think so you become”
You have an active mind and a reactive body. You think a scary thought and your body responds with a feeling of fear. You think of a happy memory and your body responds with a feeling of joy. You can practise and choose how you feel. You are not at the mercy of external events. You can control how to respond to these events.
Where attention goes energy flows. You do not see the hundreds of car parking spaces you pass when driving, it is only when you want to park your car that your attention goes to car parking spaces. Only then will you find a parking space.
The Subconscious Mind
The subconscious mind ensures your deepest desires are met, no matter what these are associated with. If your greatest desire is for attention and the only time you get attention is when you are sick, then you may get sick so that you receive the attention. The subconscious mind gets what you desire.
Your subconscious mind never sleeps or stops operating. Once it accepts an idea then it brings it into reality, whether it is a good or bad. So if you imagine positive thoughts, then you feel positive; if you focus your thoughts on negativity, then that is how you will feel. After an argument, you can blame the other person resulting in you getting angry, or you may focus on the positive outcomes and feel happy that you learnt something new about the person. The choice is always yours; you can choose to live in a positive or negative way and the subconscious mind does not know the difference – it just creates what you imagine and desire.
Aims of Hypnosis:
By using hypnosis the aim is to:
- help create a sense of peace, wellbeing and harmony within you so that challenges can be met and dealt with in a positive and confident manner
- empower you to make positive changes
- reduce panic and fear creating an increased sense of control over your life
- prepare you mentally for success
- teach you how to use self-hypnosis to gain further control over your life and yourself.
-
Kary Mullis (Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, author and lecturer)
“Our genes are designed to adapt and heal – our minds and bodies can too.”
Hypnosis is Safe and Natural
Hypnosis is a non-invasive process that is natural and safe. It is a helpful tool to improve your life. You are in control at all times and cannot be hypnotised against your will. You choose to close your eyes and to relax into a comfortable state. The more deeply relaxed you become, the more comfortable you feel. The more comfortable you feel, the easier it is to create what you want. This can be deepened at any time you choose and improves more quickly, the more times you practise calming the mind.
When in a hypnotic state you are relaxed and can talk or move your body. Your senses are active and heightened so that you can think more clearly you can feel, hear, taste and smell.
The induction process of hypnosis is never dangerous to the client. Personal disappointments, however, may arise because of unrealistic expectations or preconceived misinformation.
Some people think that you are unconscious when in hypnosis. This is not so – remember, you are aware of what is going on and all the senses are active. You may not remember everything when you return to full conscious awareness, however you remember parts of the hypnotherapy session.
The power of suggestion is the most functional and practical way to train life-long attitudes and to enjoy a life where the conscious mind can activate change. The effects are cumulative – the more you practise, the more your acceptance of post-hypnotic suggestions support more permanent results.
Can You Be Hypnotised?
Hypnosis is a consent situation between you and the hypnotherapist. Ten per cent of effort is from the hypnotherapist and 90% is your responsibility. People of average intelligence without some form of organic brain damage can be hypnotised in most cases – if you are willing and do not resist. Anyone who has a good command of language, who can think and reason, can be hypnotised. Only things like fear and resistance prevent hypnosis.
The depth of hypnosis varies from a light, medium to deep state depending on your ability to respond. If you are not a naturally responsive subject, you can improve your receptivity to hypnosis with practice. You do not need to be in a deep state to respond favourable. Self-improvement suggestions are effective in all the states.
The more you use positive images in your mind, the easier it becomes for these images to become a reality. When our subconscious mind accepts images of health, success, the lifestyle changes, then there is a tendency for these images to be realised and actualised. If you visualise yourself doing whatever it is you desire you begin to feel, think and act in ways to bring it about.
Suggestions stay with some individuals indefinitely and others need reinforcement.
The ability to reprogram emotional attitudes and reactions is a latent talent within every human being. Take the step towards self-empowerment and learn hypnosis.
Self-hypnosis training and Self-Hypnosis CDs are available for home use. These provide reinforcement and additional help. Self-hypnosis can be taught and for it to be effective you must believe it will work, expect it to work, visualise and practise it.
In What Areas Is Hypnotherapy Useful?
Hypnotherapy is useful in most areas where you desire change and improvement. Some examples include:
Relieving Stress, Anxiety, Panic, Phobias and Depression
| Public speaking | Fear of flying | Performance anxiety |
| Social anxiety | Panic attacks | Depression |
| General anxiety | Procrastination | Fear of commitment |
| Creating self-confidence |
Building self-confidence |
Sexual dysfunction |
Stopping Habits and Addictions
| Smoking | Manage weight | Eating disorders |
| Gambling | Nail biting | Bed wetting |
| Drug abuse | Alcohol abuse |
Performance Enhancement
| Exams/Study | Sports | Communication |
| Time management | Sales | Stuttering |
| Concentration & memory | Goal-setting | Art/Music/Writing/Singing |
| Learning difficulties | Motivation |
Healing Body, Mind and Spirit
| Lifting depression | Moving though grief | Improving relationships |
| Anger management | Creativity | Inner peace and guidance |
| Past life regression | Life between lives |
Assisting with Health Matters
| Allergies | Headaches/migraines | Insomnia |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | Pain management | Medical issues |
| Fertility/Pregnancy/Birth | Eczema | Chronic fatigue syndrome |
| Disabilities |