Public Perception…
Public Perception of what “hypnosis” is has been DRAMATICALLY impacted.
WHY? Because not only has the media played its share in all of this, but a wide range of professions have also used hypnosis for entertainment purposes, transforming public opinion away from the original therapeutic nature of this practice. A hypnotist/hypnotherapist can’t trick you into quacking like a duck or doing their evil bidding- This is a media-driven myth. And even when hypnosis is used for entertainment purposes, participants still operate under the complete control of their own minds.
Hypnosis has been used for hundreds of years as a safe and effective stand-alone, self-regulated profession in accessing the subconscious mind and getting to the root cause of presenting issues, allowing an individual to understand what is running their disruptive behaviour so that they can become free of it.
But What It’s NOT Is…
- It’s not brainwashing; it’s a state of heightened awareness.
- You’re not unconscious; you’re in a highly focused state.
- A hypnotist/hypnotherapist can’t take over the minds of their subjects and control their actions; you always have complete control of yourself and your surroundings.
So, What Is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a process and is used as a tool for therapeutic purposes. This process involves guided relaxation that allows one to achieve a deeply relaxed, highly focused state, known as Hypnotic State.
Then, What’s A Hypnotic State, You Might Ask?
A hypnotic state is a naturally occurring state that brings about a deep, calm, high-focused and heightened awareness that can also be achieved through hypnosis; however, most of us regularly go in and out of this state.
Let Me Ask You This:
Have you ever zoned out when watching a movie? have you ever found yourself daydreaming while listening to music, or have you found yourself immersed in your thoughts so much that you passed a red light or caught yourself driving without really thinking? Then, you’ve been in a hypnotic state.
Before I tell you what happens in the ‘brain’ with hypnosis, I must briefly give an overview of the four normal and different brain wave patterns and their associated states that we can all experience throughout the day:
- Beta brain wave: (12 Hz – 27 Hz) – Alert And Focused State.
- Alpha brain wave: (8 Hz – 12 Hz) – Relaxed State & Meditative State – ideal for learning new information, keeping facts, and performing elaborate tasks.
- Theta brain wave: (3 Hz – 8 Hz) – Hypnotic & Light sleep States – This is the realm of your subconscious mind.
- Delta brain wave: (0.2 Hz – 3 Hz) – Deep, dreamless sleep State.
So, during hypnosis, a person will experience a gradual and slow transition from a Beta brain mode (Alert & Focused) to an Alpha or even Theta brain mode, where one begins to experience a naturally calm, deeply relaxed and highly focused ‘hypnotic’ state. This is not the same as sleeping, in which you enter Delta brain mode, but it is very much seen during the meditative states and experienced as a feel-good state by many.
I often get asked, Can I hypnotize myself?
Absolutely! Hypnosis can be self-regulated and can easily be achieved. All you need to do is keep your head straight, roll your eyeballs and gaze up into your eyebrows, 20 degrees above horizontal, which triggers the brain to go into an alpha state. Keeping your eyeballs up, you take a couple of deep and slow breaths in and out, and on the final breath, as you exhale, you close your eyelids and then relax your eyeballs.
Listen, we all unconsciously do this! We do this when looking for an answer to a question or when we think. We look upward, un-focusing our eyes, not realizing that our actions are triggering this highly focused state and expanding our awareness to problem-solve better.
And now that you understand what a hypnotic state looks and feels like let’s explore…
The benefits of a hypnotic state & what role you play in all of this.
The powerful impact of suggestion/idea/recommendation in a hypnotic state is unparalleled, and one can readily be receptive to changing old mindsets and outdated beliefs through verbalization and visualization. That’s because, in a hypnotic state, the critical mind is bypassed, allowing the individual to have heightened control of their mind and body and making them receptive to suggestions they believe are in their best interest, creating deep impressions on their mind, nervous system and hence, behaviour.
And what this means for you is…
You and only you have control over your mind! When it comes to you transforming your outdated beliefs to achieve what you want in life, you must be in control of your mind, and to be in control of your mind, you must be in control of achieving an alpha brain state (highly focused state), and achieving this alpha state requires you to control your state of relaxation because only you have power over your mind.
To Summarize…
Everyone experiences the hypnotic state differently; whichever state you’re in, that’s the right state to be in; many describe it as a “feel good” state. In our session, you’re in total control and have complete power over your surroundings, words and body at all times, so you’ll not be immobilized. And no, you cannot be forced to do something against your will. You’re not sleeping! You’re awake but in deep relaxation where your critical, thinking mind rests. And from this place, you can access your subconscious mind, and we can easily have a back-and-forth dialogue as you participate, remember and review whatever comes up. You can effortlessly be brought out of this state at the end of our session, feeling light and calm.