A relaxed, focused state of concentration. That is the definition. But the actual state of hypnosis is a little harder to define. Until recently it was assumed that it was similar to sleep, or that the mind was somehow unconscious. In reality, there is a specific state that the brain enters into when it is receptive to suggestion. This has been discovered on scans during hypnosis. It is not an unusual state of mind, and may feel like you are not in a trance, or in hypnosis. For most people they simply feel relaxed. There is a change in the brain wave activity, similar to that time just before sleep when the alpha state is entered. Your brain's waking state is a beta brain wave, just as you are going to sleep it changes to alpha and then to delta and theta in deep sleep. The alpha state is a very dreamy, pleasant state. During this time the mind is very open to visualizations and creating a rich sensory experience. The more real the experience becomes in the subconscious mind during this state, the more effect it will have on your waking behavior.

Is hypnosis dangerous?
 

Hypnosis is a normal state of mind, one which most people go in and out of every day. When you are watching a movie that you are engrossed in, driving down a long monotonous road, listening to music that captures a mood or engrosses you, you are in hypnosis. We experience hypnosis every day and don't even know it. When you are in a guided hypnotic trance session, or driving down the road in trance, you have an observer self, which is an actual part of you that is always aware and watching out for you. This observer self has been documented as a credible aspect of our mind, that keeps us safe, even when asleep. During hypnosis you can trust that your observer self will watch over you. This is not a guide or spiritual being, is a scientific discovery of a function of our brain. During a hypnosis session you would instantly get up and leave the room if it caught on fire, even if had previously felt like your arms and leg were too heavy to move.

In fact, since hypnosis can help make us sharper and more aware mentally, it actually may help keep us safer, by making us more aware of our surroundings during the day. If your perception of what is happening around you is better, you will notice things that are happening with greater clarity and perhaps make better decisions. 

Can hypnosis make me tell secrets?
 

Not at all. You will not divulge any information that you would not ordinarily divulge. You always have a choice, and your brain did not stop functioning or reasoning. However, you may find that you discover some inner truths about yourself, or your situation, or some self sabotage, that you did not know about consciously. What this means is that your subconscious mind may have some inner programming going on that you do not know about that causes you to keep making the same mistakes, get sick, get angry, have rotten luck, or ignore important clues about your success or failure. The really good news is that when you uncover these inner truths that have been kept secret from your subconscious mind, your mind can no longer play that game. When the unconscious strategy is revealed, the gig is up. Your inner mind must now do it differently. The program only worked when it was in stealth mode. Here is an example. I had a pain in my back, between my shoulder blades. …….
 

Can Hypnosis make me do something against my will?
 

Absolutely not. This is probably the biggest myth of all. Stage hypnotists seem to make people do strange things while hypnotized, but the truth is that these people are doing these things because they have a desire to be outrageous. If the stage hypnotists chooses their subjects carefully they will have willing participants. You will never do anything, or accept any suggestion that violates your morals or values. If that was possible, all the hypnotists in the world could make you go rob the banks and bring back the money. We would be rich, and rule the world. Obviously, this is not the case.

What if I don't wake up?
 

No one has ever got stuck in a terminal state of hypnosis. It simply cannot happen. If the hypnotist left the room, or if you were listening to a tape and the power went out, you would either fall asleep and wake up naturally, or your subconscious mind would detect that there is no voice guiding you and bring you to conscious awareness. 

Will I forget everything during the session?
 

It occasionally happens that there is amnesia for the session. Sometimes the hypnotist will suggest that you forget what transpired, and occasionally this may have that effect. Most hypnotists want you to be aware of the session. You will be aware of everything around you, and remember most, if not all, that happened in the session. Usually, you will remember it better than a conversation we had, because your mind is in such a focused state. 

Can anyone be hypnotized?
 

Yes, in fact hypnotizability is often a learned trait. You can teach your body and mind to go into trance, and get better and better at it as you practice your self hypnosis. Most people don't think they are hypnotized after a session. What they do notice is that some things have changed - maybe that day, maybe the next week. Sometimes the effects are subtle and sometimes profound. One woman told me about a profound healing experience after three days of listening to my healing program. Her tumor disappeared. Another man who had a stroke told me that the feeling and movement returned to his arm 1 months after our sessions. Another told me that they lost 7 pounds in one week after the first session. That is amazing, of course, but sometimes when the mind is really ready to make a change, it can happen quickly. Sometimes when the brain and body needs to do some healing work it can happen over time. One of my clients was sure that he was not hypnotized in any of our sessions, but after only 5 sessions, his lifetime of relentless migraines were gone. And when I saw him 8 months later, he says that he still has not had one migraine.

The truth about hypnosis is this.

It can be the one most important tool to change the way your mind experiences your world. If there ever was a magic wand, that could help you change anything about your life, your health or your behavior, this might be it. Good Hypnotherapists know how to gently release blocks and fears, and create a new inner belief that will set the wheels in motion to make changes in the way you think, feel and behave.

We are constantly hypnotizing ourselves. I think that sometimes we are our own worst enemy, when we call ourselves names, or put ourselves down and reinforce fears and limitations. It can get to be a habit and if you do it long enough you will develop a belief that will get the results you ask for.

For instance, if you think you have a bad memory, or believe that your memory has to get worse as you get older… maybe it is at least partly due to your constant reinforcement that goes something like this:

Boy my memory is getting bad

I am so bad at names

I will never remember that, you better write it down

My mind is really going downhill

These are suggestions. It is just like suggestions that I would give you during a session in my office, in that they will create the effect you are asking for. If you come into my office and pay me to hypnotize you for a better memory, I am going to make suggestions that:

Your memory is getting sharper every day

You are very good at remember names, it is easy for you to instantly recall someone's name

You will easily remember those things that are important

You mind is getting sharper and your memory better every day.

What if? So, imagine what might happen if you just changed your suggestions that you give yourself on a daily basis?

What if you could let your mind easily change the way you feel about something you used to be afraid of? Or have more confidence? Or feel calm and relaxed and able to instantly lower your heart rate or blood pressure? One of my clients who had a 6 way bypass, wore a heart monitor and based on the anchor we created for relaxation, which was simply touching his thumb and finger together, his heart rate went down 10 BPM almost instantly.

You have the power to make your brain happy or sad, afraid or confident, healthy or sick. Want to learn how to use it. Keep listening.

Can Hypnosis make changes in my body?

 Can I change the internal conditions, influence my immune system, change the size of muscles, or in the condition of my skin?

You are constantly growing new cells. Every cell that dies off get it's instructions from the old cell, and in the case of skin cells, if there was a scar, the new cell is instructed to form in the same way as the old cell and become part of the scar tissue. But why does this perfectly healthy new cell have to take on the memory of the old cell? We get completely new skin every 20 days. All of our skin cells are replaced. They do not need to be replaced with the old messages. Hypnosis seems to be the messenger that can send information to the new cell, and break the communication of damage or aging, or injury. I have had many clients who have made scars go away. Hypnotists are very familiar with the process of permanently enlarging breasts with hypnosis because the cells respond to suggestion to become larger and more plentiful. Men have also enlarged their genitals with this same process. It is a well researched fact that hypnosis can increase the function of the immune system and affect cancer cells. In fact, Norman Cousins did a test to find out just how dramatic the effect is on the immune system after just one hour. He had blood drawn before his meditation session, then again immediately after. In one hour some immune factors in the blood had increased 200%. So when you have a cold, if you let yourself be miserable and focus on how sick you are getting, that is what you will get! Your immune system will respond by suppressing the activity.

If you decide to be well, and focus your thought on how quickly your body recovers, energize your immune system, and give your mind and body the energetic material it needs, you will probably get well very quickly. I am sure you know someone who goes around saying " I never get a cold, I just don't get sick" and they don't. You have probably wondered how they could do that, and now you know!

I used to have debilitating back pain, the kind that could sometimes keep my on the floor, unable to get up for more than a minute, that would go on for weeks. I believe that I have healed my bones, nerves and tissues in my back to the point that they are healthy and strong and getting stronger every day and every year. I used to have severe lower back pain several times a year. I was told that it would get worse as I get older. I want you to know that I have not had back pain for about 7 years. Coincidentally- the amount of time that I have been doing hypnotherapy as a career.

Can hypnosis make your body younger?
 

Quite possibly. If we are constantly growing new cells, and if we instruct them to find the most healthy and youthful information as the blueprint of their development, the cellular memory may change. Personally I believe it is possible to have younger skin, better vision, thicker hair, better memory, flexible joints. I have seen it in my clients and in myself. This is possible for everyone, not just for some. It is all a result of the thoughts that you fill your mind with and allow your mind to communicate to your body. What do you really want? Are you getting the results you are asking for? Check out your suggestions that you are giving yourself. Even if you are unhappy with some aspect of your life right now, maybe you will find out that you are getting what you want- you just didn't realize that you are just asking for the wrong thing.

Change your mind, change your life.
 

If you think you don't know how, consider finding a Hypnotherapist to help you and guide you, or find the right audio program for your need and be committed changing your inner programming by using the sessions daily. It is easier than you think, and the results can be amazing.

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