Well, a classic dictionary definition might go something like this: An altered state of consciousness characterized by heightened suggestibility and receptivity to direction. Okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s an old joke among hypnotists that goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hypnosis. It\u2019s not what you think it is\u2026It\u2019s what you think it is.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While that seems like a stupid dad joke it\u2019s probably as close or closer than the dictionary definition. What it really means is that hypnosis is very subjective and personal and can be a different experience to different people. The truth is that any definition of hypnosis and any technique used for or in hypnosis are all hypotheses, theories, and models. No one really knows how it all works for sure. But it does. The working hypothesis that I like to use is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hypnosis is a state of focused awareness with a by-pass of the critical faculty of the mind. Think of the critical faculty as the bouncer outside of a trendy nightclub deciding who (or in this case, what) gets in. It is these two things that create a state of heightened suggestibility. It’s what happens when you get fully absorbed or enTRANCED by a really good movie. You fully focus your awareness on the screen and you by-pass your critical faculty by suspending disbelief that the movie is all make believe. Poof, trance, and with it, heightened suggestibility. Now when, over the course of the film, the movie makers suggest that you laugh, cry, gasp, or jump you do. But you do it because you want to. Because you placed yourself in their hands and gave them your permission by buying a ticket and sitting in front of the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For our purposes here, hypnosis is a relationship between the hypnotist and the subject that enables the subject to focus on and communicate with their own unconscious mind. It either accesses unconscious resources that are already there or helps to install new ones which the subject can use to help themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I were to ask you what your address or phone number was when you were ten years old, that information wouldn\u2019t be in the front of your mind ready to be used. It\u2019s filed away somewhere and you would have to go somewhere in your mind to access it. Your conscious mind can only do so many things at once. Actually, the number is seven plus or minus two. The average conscious mind can focus on or process five to nine things. Everything else in your mind is stored away in your unconscious mind which is working in the background at all times. Your conscious mind is about 10 percent of your total mental capacity. Your unconscious controls 90 percent. The conscious mind is very limited, but the unconscious has an unlimited supply of resources. You\u2019ve been trying to solve an issue with only a tiny part of your mind and now you\u2019re going to see how easily you can make changes using your whole mind. Your conscious mind thinks about the problem. Your unconscious knows the solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hypnosis is a process that helps someone access and utilize the unconscious mind. And the hypnotist is a person who facilitates and guides this process. Trances are normal everyday occurrences. A natural function of everyone\u2019s mind and it happens to us every day. The ability actually belongs to the person being hypnotized not the hypnotist. Highway hypnosis \u2013 turning onto your exit or pulling into your driveway and not remembering the last several miles, zoning out while watching TV. Here\u2019s a secret \u2013 ultimately, all hypnosis is SELF hypnosis (EVENTUALLY! More on that when we talk). The hypnotist is facilitating the session and helping you to go into the state of trance and communicating with your unconscious but the hypnotist is a guide on YOUR journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some misconceptions about hypnosis. One is that there is a loss of control. There is no loss of control in hypnosis. You would never do anything in hypnosis that you would not normally do. You would never do anything that was against your moral, religious, or personal values, or something that you just didn\u2019t feel like doing. When you are deep in hypnosis, if I were to ask you to stand on your head, you would simply shake your head and say, \u201cI don\u2019t think so!\u201d It\u2019s just that simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another misconception about hypnosis is that people will tell secrets in hypnosis, and this isn\u2019t true either. If there was a secret that you would keep in your normal waking state, you would keep it in hypnosis. You would not give the hypnotist the PIN number for your ATM card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A third common misconception about hypnosis is that people could get stuck in hypnosis. And this is impossible. In all the thousands of years of people being hypnotized, no one has ever gotten stuck. When you\u2019re deep in hypnosis you might feel so good that you\u2019d like to be stuck but you won\u2019t be. In fact, if something happened to me during the session you would simply come out of the trance naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also no valid reason to fear or object to hypnosis for religious reasons. Hypnosis is not evil, or magical, or connected to the occult. In fact hypnosis is a scientific process that enables you to effectively communicate with your unconscious mind and make improvements to your life and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does hypnosis feel like? That’s a great question. Sometimes hypnosis makes you feel free and weightless, as though you were floating in the water, or as if you were a bird or a balloon soaring in the sky. Safe, and relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other times you may feel very heavy as though you were supported but sinking in the chair. Still safe and relaxed and comfortable, while listening to hypnotic suggestions. Still other times you may have the amazing experience of just sitting in a chair and listening to me talk. And that’s fine … whatever you experience is exactly right for you. Enjoy it and allow yourself to experience it in your own way, because your way is always the right way for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A short list of some of the things that Hypnosis can help with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I offer a variety of personal and professional coaching programs, from online programs focused on specific subjects and skills to long-term premium development packages. For questions and further information please schedule a call with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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