What is Hypnosis?
by Dr. Michael G Millett
What is hypnosis?
Most people when asked if they have ever been hypnotised reply
“No”,
and are mistaken.
Everyone has and perhaps quite frequently been in a hypnotic state
without realising it.
In childhood, daydreaming which is so real to the child that the dream
or imagined situation takes the place of ordinary reality, is
essentially
self-hypnosis. In adult life, many people still daydream occasionally,
and most people will have episodes of absent-mindedness or abstraction
at times, in which they are, as we say, “in a world
of
their own”.
For instance, when driving down a familiar road, you may suddenly
realise
that you have travelled several miles without being able to remember
details
of that part of the journey. However, while driving, you were perfectly
competent, adjusting to road conditions, avoiding dogs and children,
stopping
at red lights and so on, and reached your destination safely. Yet you
realise
that you have no memory at all of the last few miles and probably
cannot
remember what you were thinking about during that period. Or at another
time, you may be engrossed in watching a film on TV or reading a book,
when someone asks you a question, and you answer them. Later perhaps,
that
answer you gave is mentioned again, you have absolutely no recollection
of it. In these two states, much the same thing has happened as occurs
in hypnosis. The consciousness of the individual concerned separates
into
two streams which are out of touch with each other. You are actually
conscious
and aware of only one line of thought and action at this time, while
the
rest is being done at an unconscious level.
That is hypnosis! In formal
trance-work (hypnotherapy), you do not cease, as a rule to be unaware
or
unconscious of what is going on around you.
You may actually be aware of noises outside, the tightness of your
shoes, the background music, but your awareness of these things is
somehow
slightly distant or removed, as you are concentrating much more deeply
on what I am saying to you, and on what you are using the hypnosis for.
My clients always report how pleasurable and enjoyable their experience
of hypnotherapy is.
The experience has the unusual characteristic of combining
concentration
with relaxation, which allows you to focus on your problem, anxiety or
development-need and remain relaxed.
This involves the process of splitting or separating different `lines
of consciousness`.
Such an experience can break the link between an idea, memory or
thought
and its attendant anxiety and tension.
It can change what you need to change and develop what you need to
develop.
Suggestions (direct and indirect) and other hypnotic phenomena,
therapeutic
interventions and language structures are made and utilised, so you can
achieve something you want, or something that will benefit you, and in
this hypnotic state, that acceptance goes even deeper than it would in
non-hypnotic states. The control is with you, your own control of
yourself,
your mind and body.
Hypnosis allows you to control aspects of your whole being that
normally
you have no direct control over. You can only be hypnotised if and when
you agree to it.
You accept,
comply and act on only those suggestions
that
feel right to you - suggestions that fit your moral and value systems.
You come out of hypnosis just as easily as you go in, like awakening
from a daydream.
Even in the most unlikely event of the hypnotherapist being called
away or even dying (God forbid!) during an induction,
you would simply drift into normal sleep or immediately awake.
My clients always report an elated and cheerful feeling after the
session
that stays with them for the rest of the day.
Hypnosis on TV or in a night-club appears dramatic. At a party or in
a club, with a few drinks inside you, and with your friends egging you
on, you would be quite likely to do silly or even humiliating things
quite
willingly even without hypnosis.
Because of the situation, and because you, and the audience, believe
that the hypnotist can make you do things, you go along with whatever
he
or she suggests.
If the hypnotist is skilled and intelligent, he or she will not suggest
anything that you would find really
offensive, because it would not work and you would come out of the
trance. Hypnosis cannot make moral people behave immorally. The
hypnotist
will suggest only the sort of things the person is likely to expect and
accept, and so, as far as the audience is concerned, it works.
As a hypnotherapist, I act as a clinical facilitator to mobilise a
natural talent in practical and purposeful ways to improve physical and
mental health, and improve the quality of life for you.
Hypnosis is not a truth drug either, it is actually just as easy to
lie in a trance state as it is in a normal state. In hypnosis, you know
what you are saying, and you will not do or say anything that
contravenes
your inner principles.
Hypnosis is not anti-christian or the work of the devil as some people
sadly believe. All the major religions of the world including the Roman
Catholic Church (the largest Christian organisation in the world) have
investigated hypnosis, because of the false ideas in the past about
it`s
moral and mystical character, and have approved it as a medical
technique.
However, it does share many features with mystical and religious
experiences
and is very like deep meditation. I access and utilise this side of
hypnosis
in my Transpersonal, Metaphysical, Past Life Regression and Shamanic
work
with clients.
This is `deep` or `higher` Inner-Work.
(For details of this - please
contact me).
The clinical side of my work and the clinical application of hypnosis
is thoroughly practical and down to earth and I use it to treat all
kinds
of disorders, both physical and psychological such as stopping smoking,
building a positive self-image, living more creatively, conquering fear
and phobias, losing weight, gaining success through personal and
professional
development, generating positive change, eliminating problems and
influencing
your health.
It is undoubtedly the single most powerful and under utilised resource
in healthcare and personal development today.
So prepare to enjoy the
experience of it and you might be very
pleasantly
surprised by the powerful results...give me a ring today!
Tel: 01476 568800
(London
and Grantham - United Kingdom)
Visit
the E.T. Hypnosis Frequently Asked Questions Area Now!!
I am registered with the
National Council of Hypnotherapy and the
National
Association of Counsellors, Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists as a
fully
qualified and accredited practitioner and a Fellow of the Hypnotherapy
Research Society and a member of the Hypnothink Foundation as well as
the
General Hypnotherapy Register.
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