What is Hypnosis ?    

Misconceptions about hypnosis abound. Many of these fallacies can be traced back to the unfortunate early use of not-always-ethical demonstrations of hypnosis as a form of entertainment on stage and television.

Leaving aside that rather specialized form of hypnosis, the best way to view hypnosis is as a state of intense relaxation and concentration, in which the mind becomes remote and detached from everyday cares and concerns. In this relaxed state the subconscious part of the mind is best able to respond creatively to suggestion and imagery. It can focus on the things you wish to change and on the ways you can best do so, free from analytical or anxious thoughts.

You are, however, not asleep nor are you unconscious. You are in an altered or alternative state of consciousness in which you ‘let things happen’ through your subconscious mind rather than trying to make them happen with your conscious mind. Because you are deeply relaxed, the suggestions given to you by the hypnotist will be acted upon more easily by the subconscious. Posthypnotic suggestions are those that will be carried out by you when you come out of the hypnotic state.

There are some people on whom hypnosis should not be used or only with care, i.e. those suffering from epilepsy, psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.

The Mind

The human mind is like an onion with many layers. The outer layer is our conscious mind which helps with our daily decision-making processes working according to the reality principle. It is intelligent, realistic, logical and proactive, especially in new situations where we have to apply rational thought processes to work out what to do and how to do it. However, it can only deal with between five and nine things at any one time and is easily overloaded.

The subconscious or main hidden layer of the onion works on ‘auto pilot’ i.e. reacting according to the pleasure principle in that it seeks to avoid pain and obtain pleasure and survival, regardless of external considerations. It is concerned with our emotions, imagination, and memories as well as our autonomic nervous system which controls our internal organs automatically. These four main functions are very closely interlinked - in other words the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. It is powerful and very clever at dealing with many complex instructions at any one time but is not ‘intelligent’.

There is growing evidence now that the conscious mind, as it is generally understood, is located in the left-hand side of the brain and the subconscious mind is located in the right. Each hemisphere has very different attributes or functions.

The Brain

Conscious Mind	LEFT RIGHT	Unconscious Mind:
Logic Reason Mathematics Reading Writing Language Analysis Ego		Recognition Rhythm Visual Imagery Creativity Synthesis Dreams Symbols Emotions Id
Head Office: Where all the pro-active, logical, rational, planning thinking goes on. Can only deal with 7 things (+/- 2) at any one time. Slow & subject to overload!		The Factory: Reacts very quickly to physical, emotional, real, imagined or remembered events. 100% retention.  Not always rational or appropriate!

Sub-conscious Hypnosis

We often use self-suggestion in everyday life in the form of spontaneous thoughts or observations. Thoughts such as "I cannot stop smoking, no matter how hard I try", or "I’ll never be able to do this" are often powerful but very negative self-suggestions.

We are also continually subjected to ‘unconscious hypnotism’ in our daily life by parents, teachers, peer pressure, politicians, etc. Newspaper and television advertising, for example, try to persuade us to do things e.g. buy a particular product. Repetition reinforces the suggestion. If you have ever found yourself at the checkout counter not knowing why you put something in the basket, this may be the reason.

If we are unaware of these negative suggestions we may cause ourselves all manner of disabilities or ailments. Thankfully suggestion is a two edged sword. Those who are instructed in its use can relieve the symptoms or unwanted behavior patterns which negative suggestion may have caused.

Conscious Hypnosis

 
Our subconscious mind often stubbornly prefers to cling on to known behaviors and symptoms even if they are negative and interfere with our peace of mind and quality of life. As far as it is concerned change is potentially scary. In order to make positive changes and become mentally fit you must be consciously aware of the need for change, be motivated to get better, and be prepared to devote the time and effort necessary for doing the mental relaxation exercises. We all know that getting your body into shape involves more than merely thinking about going to the gym. Mental fitness calls for the same level of dedication.

Self Hypnosis

It has been maintained that all hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis. It is certainly impossible to be hypnotized by someone else unless you want or allow it to happen. Self-hypnosis is a way of safely bypassing the conscious mind and should only be practiced by a professional. But once you have learned how to hypnotize yourself, practice will enable you to put yourself in a ‘hypnotic state’ whenever you wish to, quickly and easily. Psychotic and severely mentally unstable people, however, should never attempt self-hypnosis.

History of Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been around since the dawn of recorded time, and at least to the time of the ancient Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians. It was know to Hippocrates. Indeed, hypnosis is named after the Greek word for sleep, hypnos, although the actual state of hypnosis is very different from sleep. It has, however, been called different names, by different cultures, different religions, and different individuals. The use of chants, drumming, and monotonous dancing rituals to change or alter consciousness fall under the definition of hypnosis. Such methods have been used successfully by the Druids, Vikings, Indian Yogis, Hindu priests, and holy men of all religions and denominations for centuries. In 2600 BC, the father of Chinese medicine, Wong Tai, wrote about techniques that involved incantations and passes of the hands. Accounts of what we would now call Hypnosis can also be found in the Bible, the Talmud, and The Hindu Vedas written about 1500 BC.

Historical Dates & People

1775: Dr. Franz Mesmer developed healing by 'animal magnetism' or mesmerism, which was later renamed hypnosis.

1784: Count Maxime de Puysegut discovered a form of deep trance he called somnambulism.

1821: First reports of painless dentistry and surgery in France using magnetism. Many breakthroughs were made by such Frenchmen as Ambrose Liebeault (1823-1904), J.M. Charcot (1825-93) a Paris neurologist, and Charles Richet (1850-1935).

1791-1868: John Elliotson, President of the Royal Medical and Surgical Society of London and a professor at London University, professed belief in magnetism/mesmerism and used hypnotic trance to perform 1,834 surgical operations.

1795-1860: A London/Scottish eye doctor and physician, James Braid, renamed magnetism / mesmerism as HYPNOSIS.

1845-53: A British surgeon in India, James Esdail, performed 2,000 operations - even amputations - with the patients under hypno-anesthesia and feeling no pain.

1857-1926: Another Frenchman, Emile Coue, pioneered the use of autosuggestion and the use of affirmations e.g. 'Day by day in every way I am getting better and better'.

1883-1887: Sigmund Freud, father of cathartic method, free association and psychoanalysis, become interested in hypnosis and began to practice it. Not being very good at it, he went on to develop psychoanalysis instead!

1901-80: Milton H. Erickson MD, the recognized leading authority on clinical hypnosis, a master of indirect hypnosis, was able to put a person into a trance without even mentioning the word hypnosis.

1925-1947: Use of hypnosis in dentistry developed in the US.

1950s Both the British Medical Association and the American Medical Association issued statements supporting the usefulness of hypnosis as a form of therapy.

1958: British Hypnotherapy founded.

1962: A brain operation was performed under hypnosis in Indianapolis in the US.

1968: The British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis was founded, exclusively for medical doctors and dentists.

Famous Users of Hypnosis

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92) repeated names to himself like a hypnotic mantra in order to access different states of consciousness in which whole poems came to him.

Mozart (1756-91) apparently composed the famous opera Cosi Fan Tutte while hypnotized.

Rachmaninov (1873-1943) reputedly composed one of his concertos following a posthypnotic suggestion.

Goethe (1749-1832) writer and scientist.

Chopin (1810-1849) pianist and composer took classes in hypnosis at the University of Strasbourg.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931) inventor

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) inventor

Henry Ford (1863-1947) car manufacturer

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) physicist

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) novelist all used trance-like states to develop their ideas.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) politician counted backwards in 3s in order to stay awake all night and avoid tiredness during W.W.II.

Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud developed modern psychiatry as a result of learning about (and practising) hypnosis.

Louis XVI of France appointed a committee of investigate the healing powers of ‘mesmerism’. The committee included Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) US statesman, philosopher and physicist, Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) father of modern chemistry, Dr. Joseph Guillotin (1738-1814) inventor and doctor.

Jackie Kennedy-Onassis used hypnotherapy to ‘relive and let go of’ some tragic events in her life.

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits reportedly beat his smoking habit through hypnosis.

Kevin Costner flew his personal hypnotist to Hawaii to cure his seasickness during the filming of Water world.

Andy Bryant, hair care consultant, hit the headlines when he underwent a vasectomy under hypnosis without anesthetic and, immediately after the operation, went back to work.

You are the most important person that you know. Perhaps it is time you checked out how hypnosis could help you!

Stage Hypnosis

Throughout history there have been those who have given public demonstrations and exhibitions of hypnotic phenomena, often giving private consultations after their shows. By the early 1850s performances were common across America, Canada, Europe and Britain. Unfortunately the art, although very popular, was slowly reduced to a mockery by sometimes fake hypnotists who used stooges and crude routines. In the UK the 1952 Hypnotism Act was brought in to protect the public from dangerous and pornographic hypnotists and all shows now require a license from a Magistrate or local Council. In many parts of the world there are laws which totally prohibit public exhibitions of hypnotism.

Early in this century genuine stage hypnosis was revived with the success of an American hypnotist, Ormond McGill. He was a pioneer in presenting hypnotism on television and is known world-wide as the Dean of American Hypnotists. His book, The Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism written in 1947 became know as `The Bible' of stage hypnotists. In 1970 a second book was written called The Art of Stage Hypnotism. Now a third and definitive book is available, The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.

Ormond, now in his eighties, was in Britain in April 1997 to present a training seminar, an unforgettable event for all those interested in the development of hypnosis. In addition to his international stage reputation, he has written many excellent books on aspects of hypnosis, magic, meditation, mysticism, etc. He is also a certified clinical Hypnotherapist and a gifted trainer.

A stage hypnotist performs his act on a mass of people and is the most highly skilled of all hypnotists. The phenomena is genuine and can serve to create a real interest in the subject of hypnotism. The secret lies in selecting only those who are highly suggestible, can go quickly and deeply into the deeper stages of hypnosis, and are likely to prove entertaining.

Ultimately the greatest safety for the public lies in ensuring that the stage hypnotist is also a qualified and practicing Hypnotherapist who will be aware of potential problems and can handle any unexpected reactions which may occur.

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