A Detailed Explanation Of Hypnosis

(C) John Weir, Clinical Hypnotist

Hypnosis has been creating successes in personal improvement and life mastery for hundreds of years. This fascinating way of communicating to the mind, is truly psychology in action, but due to its perceived mystical nature, there have been many misconceptions on what hypnosis really is. Many of the things people encounter about hypnosis, are exaggerated stories stewed up by Hollywood, the media, and clever authors. This article is attempting to serve two functions. First, to educate you on how hypnosis really works, demonstrating that there is no supernatural or mystical quality to it, just human psychology. The second goal is to clear up a few of the most popular misconceptions people have concerning this fascinating topic.

[1]To understand how the process of hypnosis works, you must first understand the different components of your mind. The human mind is divided into two distinct parts, the conscious, or critical mind, and the unconscious, or subconscious mind.

The conscious, or critical, mind is only a tiny portion of our incredible brain. It is known that the conscious mind can only hold 8-10 bits of information compared to the unlimited data bank of information contained in the subconscious mind. Freud uses the analogy of an iceberg to describe the human mind. The conscious mind is represented by only the tip of the iceberg, and the majority of the iceberg, that is underwater, represents the subconscious mind. This means that most of our thoughts and behaviors stem from the unconscious not the conscious mind.

Though sometimes given credit for doing more, the conscious mind only has four functions. First, it is the analytical part of the mind. This analytical part of the conscious mind is also referred to as the critical factor, and acts as a cognitive filter, sifting through all the information we are bombarded with everyday, and decides whether or not to accept the information being presented to us. Your conscious mind is the part of the brain you are using now to read this article. Moreover, you employ your conscious mind to analyze the ideas in this paper and to determine whether or not you believe in the power of hypnosis. (Kein Training/Video).

Secondly, the conscious mind is the rational part of our mind. This part of the mind gives you the reasons for doing the things you do. If a person did not have a reason for doing the things they do, especially for the negative behaviors, it would lead a person to worry, nervousness, anxiety, frustration, and have the potential to turn into major mental illness. However, there is a problem with this function of the conscious mind. The reason supplied by the rational part though logical is 100% wrong. For example, a smoker might say, I smoke because is relaxes me. Or an overweight person may say, I overeat because I am lonely. These reasons supplied by the rational part of the sound logical, however, the answer is usually wrong. A cigarette cannot relax a person the same way food cannot fix loneliness, but these reasons for the negative behavior protects the ego and self-esteem (Kein Training).

The third function of the conscious mind is temporary memory. Temporary memory is the part of the memory bank that includes things like riding a bike, directions to work, telephone numbers, and the name of your dog. In the book, An Outline of Psycho-Analysis, Sigmund Freud says; "Everything unconscious that behaves in this way, that can thus easily exchange the unconscious state for the conscious one, is therefore preferably described as capable of becoming conscious or as pre-consciousness" (Freud, 16-17). Pre-consciousness is another term used for temporary memory. Freud coined this term to describe all the experiences for which you are not consciously aware but can voluntarily recall.

The final function of the conscious mind is willpower. Willpower is to the mind as adrenaline is to the body. Adrenaline supplies the body with enormous amounts of physical strength, and intensity to overcome a tough physical obstacle. This strength is only temporary though, and will fade away as quickly as it came on. Willpower is a short burst of intense mental energy, which enables a person through a tough mental challenge like a craving or procrastination, however, like adrenaline the strength will fade. For this reason, this function of the mind was never intended to help people change behaviors (Kein training).

The subconscious, or unconscious, mind is the other component and the majority of the human mind. Our subconscious makes up 90% of our mind, and performs an enormous amount of cognitive activities every second of everyday. First, the subconscious mind is responsible for the control of all bodily functions. It enables our heart to beat, our lungs to breathe, our eyes to blink, and so on. This part of the mind is constantly performing numerous activities that happen without a person's awareness. If these actions required our conscious thought, you would be unable to do anything but barely survive.

Another function of the subconscious is our permanent memory bank. Hypnotists Tom Silver, and Ormond McGill talk about this function in their book entitled, Hypnotism.

The subconscious mind is the storehouse of memory. In it, every experience that happens
to us from earliest infancy to the last hour of life is filed, and many people believe that memories of past lifetimes are therein also filed. These memories are not passive; they are vitally active, each one forming a thread in the texture of our personality (Silver, 6).

Our subconscious possesses the most phenomenal databank known to man, and through regression hypnosis we are easily able to access any experience of our lives. Regression is a self-help technique employed by hypnotists to help a client review significant or remarkable events that occurred in their past with the hypnotist acting as a guide (National Guild of Hypnotists, 4).

The subconscious mind is responsible for the manifestation of emotions. We are human because of the full spectrum of emotion that we experience. Whether it is anger or joy, sadness or excitement, any and all emotions are the products of the subconscious mind.

Habits also are stored away inside the subconscious mind. A habit is something that is done often, and thereby is easy to do again and again. There are three types of habits in every human person. The first type of habit is good habits. These habits support, empower, and enable us to live a healthy life. Examples of good habits include regular exercise, studying everyday, finishing work before leisure, maintaining a positive attitude about life, and so on. The second type is called bad habits. Bad habits are self-destructive, limiting, and disastrous to a person. Examples of these habits include procrastination, smoking, not completing homework, poor attendance to class, and so on. The final type of habit is referred to as utilitarian habits. These habits are neutral and are habits we use throughout our daily life. An example would be picking up a telephone when it rings or putting the key into the ignition when you get in a car. These habits are things we do everyday that require little thought (Kein Training).

The most important thing to know about the subconscious mind is that it is a computer. It is often referred to as our organic computer. There is absolutely no super computer on the face of the Earth that can compare to the astonishing power of the subconscious mind. It possesses tremendous power, but like a computer, it lacks the ability to analyze the data that is being presented to it, the information just gets processed. This enables information being presented to be non-critically accepted into the mind, and become new thinking strategies, behavior patterns, or responses to situational stresses.

In summary, the conscious part is only a small portion of the mind, and constantly analyzes everything being presented to it accepting some ideas while rejecting the incompatible ideas or beliefs. The subconscious on the other hand makes up 90% of the mind, and works like a computer, lacking the ability to analyze information that is presented to it. This enables new ideas, beliefs, and thoughts to enter the mind and become an instant new reality.

With this understanding of the conscious and subconscious parts of the mind, let us proceed to discover how hypnosis works. Hypnosis is the communication process to the subconscious that enables accelerated or instantaneous change to occur in a person. The International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association defined hypnosis as the following:

During hypnosis, the body and the conscious mind are in a relaxed neutral state while the subconscious mind remains awake and is highly receptive to suggestion. Hypnosis is an education-communication process to a person's mind that allows his or her conscious and subconscious minds to believe the same message (International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, 1).

A more precise definition of hypnosis, and the one I personally believe is, the bypass of the critical factor (conscious mind), and the establishment of acceptable, selective thinking (Banyan and Kein, 215).

Let me use an analogy to demonstrate the process of hypnosis. Imagine for a moment, a V.I.P. nightclub in the strip in Las Vegas. There are people lined up around the block wanting to get into this exciting new nightclub. However, blocking the doorway is a big muscular bouncer holding a guest list. He only lets people in who are on the list, and tells everyone else to leave. This is how the mind works while in the conscious state, or when a person is fully aware. The people represent new ideas, beliefs, and suggestions being presented to the mind. The conscious mind works just like the bouncer at the nightclub. It filters through the information, and accepts only the ideas that are compatible with already existing belief systems. This is why it is so hard for people to change behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in the conscious state. For a basic example, imagine a student wanted to become more confident in math but in the past had trouble on the tests. This student begins telling himself things like, can pass this test. I know that this time will be different. and other positive affirmations. This new information shows up in front of the conscious mind, or the bouncer, and since the student had trouble in the past the information most likely gets rejected. However, when a person is in hypnosis, it is as if the bouncer is on a break, and everyone can enter the nightclub without being judged. The new thoughts, views, beliefs, behaviors, feelings, and so on bypass or detour the conscious mind, enter into the subconscious, and become a new reality. In the above example, if the person was in hypnosis the new positive thoughts would enter into the mind, and then they would begin acting upon the new program, which is that they will pass because this time it will be different. Once this is suggestion is installed in the mind, the student will begin doing the things that will enable success like studying, review, and practice. This occurs because this new suggestion that has entered the subconscious is now driving the thought process not the old thinking strategy of the past.

The National Guild of Hypnotists describes hypnotic suggestion as the artful use of the imagination to increase a client's enthusiasm for self-improvement (NGH, 4). Hypnotic suggestions are permanent for some people while others will need to reinforce the suggestions.

In hypnosis, there are different depths of relaxation. The depth of hypnosis and the subject's willingness to change will determine how long the hypnotic suggestions will last. Some people will reach profound levels of relaxation the first time they are hypnotized, while others will need more practice to reach deeper levels. Nevertheless, change can, and will occur at any level of relaxation. Every time a person is hypnotized, it will be easier to reach deeper levels of relaxation.

The results of hypnosis are also cumulative; the more one practices the techniques, the further the suggestions are embedded into the mind. There are a couple of ways to reinforce hypnotic suggestion. Obviously, the best way to reprogram the mind, and reinforce the hypnotic suggestion is to work one-on-one with a hypnotist.

The next best way to reinforce suggestions is through self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis can easily be learned from instruction by a hypnotist, using an audio program, or through many great books available.

Auto suggestion is another great way to reinforce suggestion. Autosuggestion was created by Emile Coue, and is what he called waking suggestion which means repeating a key phrase in the waking state that will reinforce the positive suggestion (Caprio and Berger, 32).

Other ways are to listen to audio programs created by a hypnotist to reinforce the suggestions, and some issues require a client to go back for more sessions. These are just a few of the ways to reinforce hypnotic suggestions.

Many people have misconceptions concerning hypnosis. Since hypnosis is often portrayed inaccurately in the media, movies, and television, it often leaves erroneous impressions, and fears about hypnosis in the minds of the viewers.

In the world today, one of the biggest fears regarding hypnosis is the fear of losing control to the hypnotist. Some people believe that if they are hypnotized, a hypnotist can control their mind. This idea could not be farther from the truth. In the book, Healing yourself With Self-Hypnosis, authors Frank Caprio, M.D. and Joseph R. Berger state, All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. In hypnosis the subject responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist. The subject permits the hypnotist to bring about the state of calmness and relaxation because the subject desires this mental state (Caprio and Berger, 3). Only about fifteen-percent of the process is the effort of the hypnotist, and eighty five-percent is the responsibility of the hypnotic subject. You might view a hypnotist as a skilled and talented tour guide that will assist you in change. Hypnotherapy is unique, because it is the only type of assistance that puts you in complete and total control of creating the desired change. You begin the process of change by entering a hypnotic state. Then you create the change in your mind by receiving, and accepting hypnotic suggestions for improvement, creating a new self-image, and by following techniques given by the hypnotist. The end result is that you create the change, or improvement that you desire. You are in ultimate control over how much you will relax. This in turn impacts your receptivity to suggestions, and the depth of your hypnotic trance. It is impossible for a hypnotist to control your mind. If an attempt is made by a hypnotist to give a suggestion that was outside the framework of your moral orientation or value system, your unconscious mind would immediately alert the conscious mind, the thought would be rejected, and you would emerge out of trance.

Here is an example of how your unconscious mind always protects you. Have you ever had a lot of things on your mind while driving home, to work, or to school, and when you got there, you did not remember driving there? For many people, driving a car becomes second nature, and not much thought is required to get you from place A to place B. The same is true about driving to familiar destinations. It does not take much thought when driving to a familiar place like home or work. Driving to these places becomes almost automatic. Your unconscious mind acts as an autopilot, and will deliver you to your destination. If you encounter any obstacles along your way, your unconscious mind will immediately alert your conscious mind to keep you safe. For example, while driving your car, if a deer ran out into the road, your unconscious would instantly alert your conscious mind to step on the brakes. The same is true about hypnosis. Since you are aware the entire time just in an altered state, if your mind encounters obstacles, or suggestions that are not within your moral, and value orientation, your unconscious will alert your conscious mind, and will terminate the hypnotic state. You never give up control to a hypnotist rather hypnosis lets you take it back, and achieve the success you want. You are always in control.

Another popular misconception centers on the fear of being trapped in hypnosis. This is also far from the truth. When hypnotized, your mind, and body are in a natural altered state of consciousness. This state of mind is completely safe, and normal. We actually slip in, and out of this state all day long. When you daydream, you enter into a form of this peaceful consciousness. You allow yourself to drift away, and wander around in your mind for a brief moment. Another example is when you get involved in a novel, you imagine yourself actually being there, and become oblivious to what actually is going on around you. You also understand that there is no way for you to get trapped in these states of mind. The hypnotic state is very similar to these two examples. Since hypnosis is as natural as daydreaming, or getting involved in a book, it is 100% safe and impossible to stay in a hypnotic state of mind. If the hypnotist stopped talking, or left the room, one of two things would happen. First, you as the hypnotized subject would open your eyes, and emerge from this relaxed state just as easily as you would from a daydream. The second possible outcome, would find you as the hypnotized subject waking up in a few minutes just like you do in the morning from a good night sleep. You would feel like you had just taken a refreshing nap. It's impossible to get stuck in hypnosis.

The third misconception centers on what happens to you when you are hypnotized. Due to various factors including Hollywood, some people feel that they will go off into a dream world, or they enter into a comatose state. When you are hypnotized, you are still conscious, and aware of things happening around you. You are just in a different state of consciousness. Most people are unaware that while hypnotized you can still hear other sounds in the room around you. When hypnotized, you have just altered your state of consciousness, like if you were daydreaming. Since we slip in and out of this state of mind everyday, it feels very natural, and enjoyable to all people. It feels so natural, that on occasion, people do not think they were hypnotized when in fact they really were, but others go so deep into profound relaxation that there is no denying the hypnotic trance.

As you now know, hypnosis is psychology in action. The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Dental Association have approved this amazing tool since 1958 as a viable therapeutic tool. With over 75,000 medical studies validating its effectiveness, this wonderful way of communicating to the subconscious mind can literally change a person's life in an instant. Now that you understand what hypnosis is, how will you use it in the future to benefit you?