Holistic Hypnosis. Change Your Mind. Change Your Life.
Hypnosis: "Taking that part of your mind that won't listen to you, and making it more receptive to what you want."
What Is Hypnosis?
There are many different definitions of hypnosis such as, "an altered state of mind", "a trance" etc. Although hypnosis has been around for hundreds of years, it is still one of the most misunderstood of all sciences. Much of the misinformation can be traced back to television, movies and novels. The average adult encountering hypnosis in a private session quickly realizes that the media is not an accurate portrayal of hypnotism.
The US government has given us a definition that is very useful. According to the US government, hypnosis is the bypass of the critical part of the mind and acceptance of selective thinking. For example if someone were to come into your house and say "its getting very cold in here", the critical part of your mind would analyze this statement something like this - "the door or windows are not open, the heat is at 75 degrees - therefore it is not getting cold in here". However, if the critical part was bypassed, your mind would accept the statement as reality and send a message that your body is feeling cold.
Another example is becoming sad or excited when watching a movie. We know that the movie is not real, that it is just cameras and actors, but we allow the critical part of the mind to be bypassed so we can be entertained.
It is this ability to bypass of the critical part of the mind that makes hypnosis so useful. With hypnosis we can take the part of your mind that won't listen to you and make it more receptive to what you want. We can address the limiting beliefs and habits that YOU want to change, and make powerful changes right away.
What does hypnosis feel like?
Hypnosis actually doesn't feel like anything. It is a state of mind. When I work with clients they usually have their eyes closed. One sign of hypnosis I look for in the client is rapid eye movement (REM). REM usually occurs when we are asleep and dreaming, but it also occurs when daydreaming. What REM signifies is that the visual part of the mind, the part that dreams, is activated. So for my clients, if hypnosis "feels" like anything, it feels like lucid daydreaming.
Because it is quite easy to emerge yourself from a daydream, you can appreciate that it is easy to emerge from hypnosis if you need or want to.
Can anyone be hypnotized?
As a general rule, if you don't want to be hypnotized, you won't be, because you won't allow it. That being said, I have rarely had a client who did not go into hypnosis in my office. When people learn what hypnosis actually is,they are almost always OK with trying it. It used to be believed that only 20% of the population could be hypnotized. We have since discovered that if people are informed about what hypnosis actually is, then anyone who wants to be can be hypnotized. All you have to do is follow very easy instructions and be of normal intelligence and you will go right into a level of hypnosis to do all the work necessary to get the changes you want.
How do you go into hypnosis?
Two ways: 1. Automatically and naturally: Human beings are changing all the time in many ways on many levels, be it mood, relative health and even level of consciousness. People naturally and automatically go into a state of light hypnosis from time to time. You may have experienced "highway trance", that is driving on the freeway and because you were thinking about something else (focused attention) you may have missed your exit, or been unaware of time passing. That state of focused attention while driving is a mind-state of light hypnosis. Hypnosis is simply going into that mind-state on purpose.
2. A hypnotist guides you there: Hypnotists have a number of ways to do hypnotic inductions to help you achieve the state of hypnosis. A good hypnotist can get you into the hypnotic state in 4 seconds to 4 minutes.
Is hypnosis safe?
Hypnosis has been accepted by the American Medical Association since 1958 and is used for all sorts of issues such as helping children control epileptic seizures, overcoming infertility, IBS, controlling or eliminating pain and skin ailments, finding the cause of depression, anxiety and bad habits and the list goes on and on.
If this is so why don't more doctors tell patients about hypnosis? Most doctors just don't think about it because their training is not in this area, but more and more are embracing the idea and we get referrals from doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and therapists all the time.
Can you get stuck in Hypnosis?
No one has ever been stuck in hypnosis. Hypnotists want to get paid so they are very motivated to emerge you after the work is done. If the hypnotist was to walk out of the room, you would emerge yourself when you are ready. But because hypnosis is such a pleasant experience, you might not want to emerge right away.
Holistic Hypnosis - Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.