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Hypnosis Questions
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Questions About Hypnosis
Understanding How the Subconscious Mind Works
Below
are some commonly asked questions and misconceptions about hypnosis.
If you don't see a question answered that you have, feel free to send me an email and I'll get right back to you.
Can anyone be hypnotized?
Anyone
of normal intelligence - that is, with an IQ above 70 and with no
severe mental disorders - can be easily hypnotized. Fear is the
only thing that prevents an otherwise good candidate for hypnosis from
being hypnotozed. Usually this is a fear of loss of control.
Since the subconscious mind operates from a level of
emotional and physical safety, fear sometimes may prevent a
person from entering hypnosis. This is because being in a state
of fear is the exact opposite of emotional safety. Safety and survival
are the prime motivators of the subconscious mind. All else is
secondary.
Once the person who wants to be hypnotized realizes
that he or she can't be made to do something while hypnotized they they
really do not want to do, there is nothing to fear. Then, with
proper preparation, the hypnotic state can be easily achieved.
Will I lose control of my mind in hypnosis?
This
is a common misconception. Hypnosis cannot make you do something
you really do not want to do. Because the subconscious mind is
motivated by safety and survival on both physical and emotional levels,
any suggestion given that would cause you to be uncomfortable if
carried out, or that would go against your normal ethics would
automatically be rejected by the subconscious mind.
Is hypnosis a strange or weird feeling?
Don't
expect to feel any different than ways you are already accustomed to
feeling. For example, when you awaken in the morning and you're
not quite asleep and not quite awake, that is similar to the feeling of
being in hypnosis. It's more like a relaxed, drifting state.
Another example is when you are driving a car from Point A to Point B and suddenly realize that you don't consciously remember the drive in between. Yet your subconscious, which is
motivated by safety and survival, got you safely to your destination.
Still
anothe example is when you are involved in a project or hobby you are
working on: your mind is drifting along as you work, and then someone
comes up behind you and you feel so startled that you jump.
Hypnosis
does not feel strange or unusual. So if you are listening to a
hypnosis recording and find yourself thinking, "I wonder if I'm
hypnotized or just relaxed," simply let that thought go, keep an open
mind and continue to follow along with all the suggestions and find
yourself agreeing with them. It's that easy to make hypnosis work
for you!
Can I become stuck in hypnosis?
The
hypnotic state is as normal as any other state of mind. We drift
in and out of it every day, often several times a day. It's just
that we do it on our own, without the aid of a hypnotherapist, and we
do it unconsciously.
Since
a hypnotherapist cannot make you do something while hypnotized that you
really do not want to do, you have the power to awaken yourself at any
time. The reason you might choose not to is because you are
getting, or expect to get, value from continuing to follow the
suggestions. If you were to fall asleep while in the hypnotic
state, you would simply awaken normally a while later.
Are stage hypnosis shows real?
People
see guests on stage shows acting silly and assume the hypnotist has
control over what they do, or that the whole show is just an act with
the audience in on the act. Actually, the show is real, but the
whole concept is skewed toward a different outcome than hypnosis for
personal self-improvement.
With stage hypnosis, the crowd
is there to be entertained, not improve their lives. The
volunteers who get up on stage want to act silly and be the center of
attention. When the hypnotist gets his (or her) volunteers up on
stage, he then does a few tests or exercises to see the ones he wants
to work with. The crowd sees this and assumes he is looking for
the ones who are hypnotizable.
What he is actually
looking for are the biggest exhibitionists and the most compliant
people. If some of the volunteers appear as if they might detract
from the successful entertainment value of the show, he will neatly and
tactfully send them back to their seats.
Then, before he
begins, he will tell them what he intends to do and ask for their
permission and agreement to follow all his suggestions. This is
what is known among hypnotists and hypnotherapists as the hypnotic
contract. His guests really are hypnotized, and have agreed to
follow his suggestions, so they do.
Why is it difficult to change the subconscious mind?
It's
not that it is difficult to change, but it does require an
understanding of how the subconscious ming works, and very often
requires persistence to achieve the desired result. The
subconscious is has a lot to do, and does not like to change unless it
perceives the need to do so based on emotional importance or physical
safety.
Unlike the conscious mind, which is logical and
rational, the subconscious mind is not rational at all. It is motivated
by powerful emotions, the need for physical and emotional safety and
instinct for survival.
The
subconscious mind holds all of our memories and creates habits by
memorizing new behaviors that are repeated often. That is its
job. An example is learning to drive a car, tie your shoes, ride
a bike or even the way you brush your teeth.
Emotional
memories that have perceived importance are stored in the subconscious:
the more important the memory is perceived to be on a level of safety
and survival, the more effect it has on behavior, often for life.
By removing or changing the emotional importance about a subject
or event while hypnotized, a person can become both conscious of it and
more easily let go of it.
The
subconscious doesn't care whether ideas or behaviors make sense, it
simply behaves based on what if feels will be easiest and will provide
the greatest level of emotional safety and insurance of physical
survival.
Like
a wild animal, the subconscious is a creature of habit. And yet,
this magnificent feature is what makes our lives function smootly and
efficiently on a day-to-day basis most of the time. It operates
behind the scenes.
How long will it take to get results?
Some people get results almost immediately. Yet because the subconscious mind is a creature of habit, it make take longer.
It
is often said that to create a new habit or behavior change, the habit
must be repeated for at least 21 days. My suggestion is to listen
to a recording for a specific outcome every day for at least 30 days.
This helps assure that the subconscious is taking the information
on board as a new habit or thought pattern.
The way we think
attracts circumstnaces to us, so thinking differently at a subconscious
level will attract different circumstances. Since thought
patterns are habits, the subconscious learns to change these habits
through both repetition and by investing them with emotional
importance.
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