So, what is Hypnosis? Most people have preconceptions about Hypnosis based on having seen some Hypnotic show on television or having attended a live show at a club or theatre. They would have witnessed people being under the influence of the Hypnotist and made to perform some ridiculous acts, usually attached to a level of humiliation. Whilst this can help to give credit to the power of Hypnosis, it would be wrong for you to believe that you can be made to do anything against your will.
The stage volunteers during a Hypnotic Show, are willing participants and are well aware of what is expected of them. Whilst they do not know exactly what they will be asked to do, they do know that it is going to be something silly and out of character. The fact that they volunteer in the first place, means that they are agreeing to accept the influence of the Hypnotic Suggestions. If someone was reluctantly dragged up on stage and subjected to the same suggestions, they are unlikely to have any affect as the mind of the subject is not open or willing.
To understand Hypnosis, we need to accept that there are 2 parts or levels of our minds. The first part is our conscious mind. This is the part of our mind where we are right now. It is the part we use when we are alert, thinking, making decisions and questioning our actions and those of others. It literally does what it says, all the things that we are consciously aware of doing and needing to do, are done in the conscious part of our minds. This part of our mind is always focused on what we are doing or thinking right now and unfortunately, limited on what it can handle at any one time.
This is where the genius of our subconscious mind comes in. This second part of our mind is bar far the more powerful of the 2. It has the ability to learn and automate all of those essential skills we need for survival and progress. For instance, if we needed to use our conscious mind to remember to breath, we would no doubt suffocate when engrossed in a task that was making full use of that part of our mind, as it is limited by the amount of tasks it can perform at any one time. It is therefore in the subconscious mind that all the automated bodily functions, learned skills and habits are stored.
Our subconscious minds also contain the immense library of our long term memory. Every thing you have ever experienced using all your senses is stored in there somewhere. Everything you have ever seen, tasted, smelled, touched or heard is there. All of life’s experiences, good and bad are there too and they each affect us in different ways. Somethings you may not be aware of, but as soon as they are mentioned by someone else it triggers a memory to come to the front of your mind and you can then recall it as if it where yesterday. Perhaps somebody mentions the name of a person you went to school with and you can instantly visualise them or hear their voice.
This is the part of your mind that never rests – fortunately, or we are back to that suffocating thing again – and the part that controls who we naturally are and how we instinctively behave. Sure we can all pretend to be nice at times when we don’t want to be and we can all use our will power to act in a different way, but these are all short term changes and when our concentration is lost, we revert back to our learned behaviour, that stored and programmed in our subconscious mind.
So it is at this core level, within our subconscious mind, that we need to make any lasting and effective changes. All our internal communication during our waking hours and our alert state are with our conscious mind as it is always focused on what we are thinking about and actually doing. Access to our subconscious mind is not achieved until we are in a calm state of relaxation. Perhaps you can remember a time when you awoke in the early hours and recalled where you had left something that you had thought lost or were happily sitting in front of the TV and suddenly remembered something that you had forgotten to do. Only when sufficiently relaxed, is it possible to have direct interaction with the subconscious mind.
During Hypnosis, you achieve a state of deep relaxation that allows you to calm the frantic activity of your conscious mind and channels your thoughts into your subconscious. This is by no means a state of sleep. When you are asleep you are not aware of what is going on, whereas during your Hypnosis session you are aware and in control at all times. It is more like a deep state of daydreaming, where the day to day distractions are allowed to drift into the background and you allow yourself to visualise and experience the suggestions being made to you whilst in this beautifully relaxed condition. You will be aware of hearing all that is said to you and it is important to know that you will not be in some altered state of mind just in a deeply relaxed trance, and that hearing and being aware is quite normal during Hypnosis. Being aware does not mean that you are not in hypnosis. In this relaxed condition, your subconscious mind will be absorbing all the positive messages it is being fed.
It is equally important to know that anyone can go into Hypnosis. As long as they want to and follow the instructions given, they will. Our sessions will require you to have an open and positive mind. It is important that you want to make the change in your life and that you let yourself go with the session. Don’t try to force anything or convince yourself of something, you just need to let whatever happens to happen and enjoy the experience. In this way, you will soon be benefiting from your hypnotherapy and your own goals will be achievable.
