Hypnosis is the most misunderstood subject there is…<\/strong><\/p>\n Here we provide a simple and concise description of what hypnosis is about. Further down you will find a few examples where some of the “experts” define hypnosis. A section on the truth and myths about hypnosis<\/a> will also be covered, along with a brief historical overview of hypnosis and its development.<\/p>\n Hypnosis is first and foremost a state<\/em> \u2014 and nothing else. Trance is simply a word we use to describe the extraordinary state of total focus we find ourselves in at certain moments. Here I will share some thoughts and descriptions of how trance and hypnosis can be understood in a straightforward way.<\/p>\n Trance and hypnosis are words most people have heard before, and for some of us they are occasionally associated with something mysterious and dangerous \u2014 something beyond our own control. That is not true. <\/p>\n Hypnosis does not mean you lose control, say things against your will, or get stuck in a state you cannot come out of. You are fully aware throughout the entire session. What happens is that the subconscious mind becomes more accessible \u2014 and that is precisely what makes change possible.<\/p>\n When our conscious mind needs a break, we drift into a trance-like state. This happens when we daydream or when our thoughts are elsewhere \u2014 much like when we drive a car. You have probably experienced driving to a familiar destination and suddenly realizing you have arrived, with no memory of the last few miles. Your subconscious mind took over and did a better job, because driving had become a habit \u2014 leaving your conscious thoughts free to wander elsewhere. A typical everyday form of trance. Once a pattern becomes a habit it sinks down into the subconscious, which takes over and does a considerably better job. The first time you learn something new \u2014 driving a car or tying your shoes \u2014 it is a conscious process. All focus is on the “task” and the conscious mind is 100% alert. As the pattern becomes more familiar and is repeated, it sinks into the subconscious \u2014 in other words, it becomes a habit. That is why you can now tie your shoes while thinking about what you need to do during the day, or drive while planning what to pick up on the way home. That was impossible during the learning phase.<\/p>\n You may have had a teacher at school with a dull, monotone voice and noticed your concentration drifting away \u2014 because your conscious mind was bored, your imagination opened up and daydreaming took over. Another clear form of trance.<\/p>\n Hypnosis is a state in which the conscious part of the mind is bypassed and the subconscious opens up. The examples above are different forms of trance or hypnosis-like states that we frequently and spontaneously enter every day. Hypnosis is therefore a natural, very pleasant state in which our subconscious has opened itself. We use hypnosis to advantage to achieve goals, create change and solve problems through a special form of communication with the subconscious mind.<\/p>\n This is how Encyclopedia Britannica<\/strong> defines hypnosis:<\/p>\n “Hypnosis is the term applied to a unique, complex form of unusual but normal behavior which can be induced in all normal persons under suitable conditions and also in many persons suffering from various types of abnormality. It is primarily a special psychological state with certain physiological attributes, resembling sleep only superficially and marked by a functioning of the individual at a level of awareness other than the ordinary conscious state\u2026”<\/p>\n Definitions of hypnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are some “expert” definitions of hypnosis:<\/p>\n “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” \/ William James<\/p>\n “Actually, the hypnotic state, like the conscious state and the sleeping state, is extremely complex and involves so many physiological, psychological, and interpersonal factors that no one theory has yet been able to account for all the intricate operations that take place within its range.” \/ Lewis R Wolberg<\/p>\n “Hypnotism is simply exaggerated suggestibility.” \/ George H. Estabrooks<\/p>\n “\u2026A state of intensified attention and receptiveness, and an increased responsiveness to an idea or to a set of ideas.” \/ Milton H. Erickson<\/p>\n “\u2026Nothing but an aspect of conditioning.” \/ Andrew Salter<\/p>\n “Hypnosis is largely a question of your willingness to be receptive and responsive to ideas, and to allow these ideas to act upon you without interference. These ideas we call suggestions.” \/ Andre M. Weitzenhoffer and Ernest R. Hilgard<\/p>\n “Hypnosis is not sleep. Whatever sleep is, hypnosis is not\u2026. to put it succinctly, hypnosis is an altered state of attention which approaches peak concentration capacity.” \/ Herbert Spiegel<\/p>\n “Hypnosis is a consent state of physiological relaxation where the subject allows the critical censor of the mind to be bypassed to a greater, or lesser, degree\u2026we could even go so far as to say that hypnosis is ‘preventive psychological medicine’.” \/ Peter Blythe<\/p>\n “It is recognized that there is no generally accepted definition of hypnosis, though considerable consensus exists at a descriptive level.” \/ Martin T. Orne<\/p>\n “\u2026An altered state within which suggestions have a peculiarly potent effect.” \/ K.S. Bowers<\/p>\n “Hypnosis is a natural state of mind with special identifying characteristics:<\/p>\n 1. An extraordinary quality of relaxation. \/ Gil Boyne<\/p>\nHypnosis \u2014 what it is not<\/h2>\n
Hypnosis is something we enter spontaneously<\/h2>\n
Hypnosis is a natural state<\/h3>\n
\n2. An emotionalized desire to satisfy the suggested behavior: The person feels like doing what the hypnotist suggests, provided that what is suggested does not generate conflict with his belief system.
\n3. The organism becomes self-regulating and produces normalization of the central nervous system.
\n4. Heightened and selective sensitivity to stimuli perceived by the five senses and four basic perceptions.
\n5. Immediate softening of psychic defenses.”<\/p>\n