Hypnosis Fact and Fiction

[Shamim Ansary]

Hypnosis Fact and Fiction

By Veda Kalidas

There are many misconceptions of what hypnosis is. Most of these misconceptions are perpetuated by the popular media. The truth is, hypnosis has been used throughout history and continues to be used today, both legitimately and fraudulently. I decided to write this article to clarify just what hypnosis is exactly and what it is not for inquiring minds and to help those that could truly benefit from the true, legitimate practice of hypnosis.

I will start by addressing the misconceptions of hypnosis and tell you WHAT HYPNOSIS IS NOT. Hypnosis is not a form of mind control despite its portrayal in movies as such... you know, the guy dressed in the black tuxedo with big, bushy eyebrows that can swing his pocket watch as a pendulum before people's eyes to make them cluck like chickens upon the snap of his fingers... No, hypnosis is not capable of taking over another's free will. Hypnosis is not brainwashing and is not capable of controlling a person's behavior and judgment. Hypnosis is not caused by the hypnotist's "power", as this would allude to the possibility of "mind control" of which there is no hard scientific evidence.

It is also a big misconception that hypnosis is possible only upon weak-minded individuals. In actuality the ability to enter a hypnotic state has nothing to do with one's intelligence. The hypnotic state can be reached by any individual through self-hypnosis techniques however the ability to be hypnotized by an outside party (hypnotist) is dependent more upon genetic factors. Neither is hypnosis dependent upon individuals with vivid and overactive imaginations.

Hypnosis as a process is not necessarily time-consuming nor does it require the subject to be completely relaxed. And although named for the god of sleep, hypnosis is not sleep. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, hypnosis is "a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject".

Now I will delve into what hypnosis is and real world applications of hypnosis. There is a plethora of ways in which hypnosis has been and still is used today in treating mental, physical and social problems.

Hypnosis is used to treat obesity, anxiety, depression, phobias, fears and habits such as quitting smoking. Hypnosis is used to alleviate the pain associated with cancer and other chronic illnesses. Hypnosis is also used in dentistry (hypnodontia) to decrease anxieties and make patients feel more comfortable with the dental experience. Hypnosis is used to treat skin diseases through a practice known as hypnodermatology.

Mental health applications of hypnosis include the treatment of dissociative disorders, depression and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Hypnosis is used in the educational field to increase memory and learning capacity as well as focus and energy. Hypnosis is also used to improve self-esteem and confidence.

Altered states of consciousness such as relaxation, meditation and sleep have been achieved through hypnosis. Self-hypnosis with binaural beat audio is used to achieve states allowing for astral projection, remote viewing, past life regression, ESP and telepathy. Of interesting note, binaural beats have been used by top secret members of the US government to utilize remote viewing tactics.

Hypnosis has been used in the past to suppress pain during medical procedures before the advent of chemical pain killers and anesthesia. And let us not forget a very important use of hypnosis... entertainment. Unfortunately entertainment is one of the prime sources leading to the many misconceptions involved with hypnosis.

Despite the misconceptions of hypnosis perpetuated through popular culture and the entertainment industry, hypnosis remains a powerful tool that continues to be used today in the medical, mental health and self-help fields to help people to live better, live longer and enhance their lives.

If you are interested in learning more about using hypnosis to achieve altered states quickly and easily to enhance your life, you may want to look into brainwave entrainment. Brainwave entrainment is the process of using audio frequencies, called binaural beats, to achieve altered states of consciousness. Binaural beats can achieve almost any state of consciousness in about 5-10 minutes.

From the source: http://thinksucceeded.blogspot.com/

[Shamim Ansary]

Self Hypnosis Guidelines

By Timothy Hansen

Self-hypnosis does not have to be hard work. It's actually much easier than most people think and can provide pretty much everyone with a tool to create great changes in their lives. There are many uses of self-hypnosis, including weight-loss, quitting smoking, improving self-esteem or other habits that you may want to rid yourself of. Self-hypnosis is not something limited to a select number of people. Pretty much anyone can do it with just a little bit of practice.

When hearing the word "the mind" most of us immediately thinks of the brain. Well, there are actually two parts to our mind, the conscious and the sub-concious. About 75% of all our brain activity is sub-concious, meaning tasks completed by our brains without us knowing. It goes on behind the scenes all day. Every one of us have certain things we like and don't like, habits or views of life in general. As we embark into adult life these traits tend to remain unchanged because they have been programmed into us from our early years. People we have met, skills we have attained, experiences we have had, these all have influenced our core programming and made us into who we are today. Most of us like who we are in general, but may feel that if we made a few changes (losing weight, quitting smoking, stop biting our nails etc.) things would just be that much better.

Our biggest challenge is that even though we would like to consciously change things it does not mean that our sub-concious will let us. Think about a smoker for a moment. They know consciously that smoking isn't very good for them and most likely will shorten their lives dramatically. Still, does this mean that because they know that quitting is smart, they will? No, because our sub-conscious mind will always take over in times of struggle (and changing our old ways IS a struggle) and most of the time the sub-conscious mind says "keep smoking", so smoking it is. Self-hypnosis is the key here. Why? Because it provides you with an access to your sub-conscious mind and the tools to re-program it.

The first thing you will learn in self-hypnosis is simply closing your eyes, relaxing and counting down from 10 to 0 whilst exhaling. As a result of doing this, most people will fall into a light hypnotic state. This does not mean that you lose control and do not know where you are. It just means you have found a state of rest and relaxation where you are slowing down and shutting out your conscious mind. This state of ease may be taken a step further by visualizing a peaceful place, such as a beach, forest or maybe in your mothers lap. The main idea here is for you to find a place where you feel safe and secure. Through visualization we can actually have a great impact on emotional, mental and physiological states of our body, to the same extent as if we were there. When we are in this state of relaxation and visualization our mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not.

I am not going to lie to you and say that self-hypnosis is real easy and that five minutes of practice makes you a master at it. What I will say however, is that it is a skill just like any other, and with good practice can be developed and perfected. When going to see a hypnotherapist, they will act as a guide to help you through your mind. With self-hypnosis, you are the hypnotherapist and you provide your own therapy. That way, you choose when to start, how far to go, and when to stop. This is a very important point and should be repeated. Before you start any self-hypnosis session, you have to decide on what it is that you want out of it, how you are going to achieve it and also how you will feel once you're done. It may help to simply write a script or create a map of the journey through your mind. Once in a hypnotic state you will repeat the script over and over whilst following your map. This way you will stay on target and won't get lost.

The vast majority of us don't even realize that they fall into this state of hypnosis many times a day. This may happen while enjoying a book, playing a computer game or simply doing work. This state allows you to narrow your focus of your attention and makes your brain absorb the information much better. The ultimate goal of self-hypnosis is to create an access point for you to the part of your brain (sub-concious) that controls the behaviours, habits or attitudes you want to change.

Tim Hansen is a hypnosis expert. For more great information on self hypnosis, visit http://www.selfhypnosisforall.com.
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