Neuroscience, modern technology and extensive tests have proven conclusively how the mind works and how hypnosis is a natural part of its function.
There is nothing magical or mystical about hypnosis as stage hypnotists would have us believe. People who are wary of hypnosis don't have a real understanding of what it is, or how effective and even enjoyable it can be.
Some people think of hypnosis as a therapy, but actually, it's a state of mind where learning takes place quickly and effectively. In fact, we all drift in and out of hypnosis many times a day. All emotional states are hypnotic states. For example, when we are engrossed in an interest, hobby or habit, when we drive our car and daydream, anytime our mind wanders into worrying thoughts when we experience a fit of giggles, shock or trauma, or that rather sleepy feeling when we drift in and out of sleep. So the mind is naturally in and out of hypnosis frequently throughout our day. When we are in this state, our unconscious mind is more engaged with what we are thinking or experiencing and actually re-enforcing those things. Hypnosis can be used as a means for delivering therapy to make it more powerful. Still, it’s only as effective as the therapy it provides and only as good as the competence of the therapist delivering it.
So how does induced hypnosis feel? Most of my clients would tell you it’s an enjoyable and calming experience rather like daydreaming. It’s not at all what they had expected. When you experience the benefits, only then can you really appreciate its efficacy and the pleasure, or solace it can provide. What does hypnosis have to do with our emotional problems? The answer is everything. All emotional issues which dominate our thoughts and behaviour are unconscious and learned in hypnosis, we then autonomously draw them up unconsciously.
There are two parts to our mind, the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious part we use daily to communicate experience and learn using all our senses. It’s the reasoning mind through which we make choices and decisions, it also can disbelieve, which often holds us back depending on our learned beliefs and perceptions. All our learnings and experiences are transferred through neural pathways into the unconscious part. In complete contrast the unconscious part runs our lives, every single moment we experience is recorded holographically in synergy with all our senses, it records everything as we perceive it and emotionally feel it at that moment in time. It can’t argue or question things, it absorbs all conscious thoughts and experiences good, bad, right or wrong. It’s where all our learnings, beliefs, behaviours, habits and problems take root, becoming automatic and unconscious. It’s a storehouse of our memories and life experiences, it is who we are. This part of our mind completely dominates our behaviour and habits despite our conscious will to change or control things, it’s the powerhouse, not the conscious thinking mind. Unfortunately, some of our learned perceptions and beliefs are false, for example a person with low self-esteem has a false impression of themself, they are actually better than they think they are. A person with eating problems may have experienced bullying as a child and unconsciously turned to overeat to comfort them. A person with OCD will have experienced some trauma and developed a compulsive habit to feel safe. A smoker may associate having a cigarette with feeling less stressed, but smoking actually increases blood pressure. It is this kind of false matching and poor systematic thinking that is at the heart of most psychological problems.
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