About Hypnosis

What Hypnosis Is

Hypnosis is the bypass of the critical factor of the conscious mind combined with the establishment of selective thinking, says the US Government. Hypnosis is a blend of physical relaxation and extreme mental alertness. Yes, I said extreme. Hypnosis    is a state of focused concentration. This is why a few minutes of emotional expression in trance is worth hours in an alert state. Humans are so easily distracted, and the Conscious mind is forever making excuses for everything. In hypnosis, the conscious mind is set aside, and excuses are seen for what they are.

Hypnosis is guided imagery combined with specific suggestions to effect desired change. Ah, there's that phrase: guided imagery. Many hypnotists dislike the connotation of the H word, hypnosis, so they call themselves practitioners of guided imagery. Be not fooled, they are hypnotists. Guided meditation? Hypnosis. Relaxation techniques? Hypnosis. Hypnosis is the state you enter into every time you watch a favorite tv show, see a film you like, or sit down at the computer intending to only be there for 10 minutes... and suddenly it's two hours later. Hypnosis also happens when humans fall in love, literally entranced.

What Hypnosis Is Not

•  Hypnosis is not mind control. Svengali is fiction! As is that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he walked like a zombie, claiming to be hypnotized. Fiction!

•  Hypnosis is not a royal proclamation. We don't just say to the tranced client, You are a nonsmoker, and emerge her. It can take anywhere from one session to a dozen to get the changes the client wants.

•  Hypnosis is not sleep. We use relaxation, not sleep, to enter hypnosis. You do not wake up from hypnosis, you emerge. And you already know exactly what emerging from hypnosis feels like!
Remember the last time you went to the movies, loved the film, and at the end when the credits rolled, you suddenly came to? You just emerged from hypnosis. That's exactly what it feels like, because that's exactly what happened.

• Hypnosis is not being unconscious. You can hear everything that goes on around you during trance; you're just not interested in it. You already know what this aspect of hypnosis feels like, too.
Ever been in the middle of your favorite tv show when someone calls your name? Oh, you hear them calling, alright, you're just not interested. Then it takes a few seconds of emerging from the hypnotic effects of television to bring back your Conscious mind to full alert.

• Hypnosis is not relaxation. That's just an optimal starting point.

• Hypnosis is not being drugged. Although a trance state is what drug and alcohol addicts strive for, hypnosis is not addictive. However, one can easily mimic a drugged state in hypnosis, provided you have previously felt the effects of that drug. Your body remembers. This is useful for pain control.

• Hypnosis is not involuntary. Just as no one can make you enjoy a movie that fails to entrance you, no one can make you remain in hypnosis. The state is fully voluntary. You can not enter it without your consent for more than a few seconds, and more importantly, can not remain in hypnosis without your full consent. If you become even the slightest bit uncomfortable, you will automatically emerge. Hypnotists know this. I typically teach my clients self hypnosis on the very first session so that they know for certain that they can emerge whenever they like. Anyone can emerge from hypnosis instantly by making that their intention.