Some people will tell you hypnosis is deep relaxation. Other may say it is mystical or magical energy. Others will say it is brainwaves that go at a certain rythm, Or some the power of the hypnotist over others. Hypnosis isn’t any of that. It isn’t relaxation or though it can feel lile it is. Hypnosis is a process to convince you to act, behave or think differently. It is a process that turns down logical anyalitcal thiking and instead turns up emotions feelings, and automatic responses.
One of the first key aspects to hypnosis is concentration. If we are taking a leisurely walk through a park we may notice the sound of some birds, leaves on the ground, other people walking by, a dog playing, with a stick, the pretty flowers around us, a butterfly on a flower. However, there is only so much incoming information we can handle at one time. So what has developed is the ability to concentrate on what is important to us to the exclusion of what is not important. So as we concentrate in on one thing, the less we notice the other things around us. We may find the butterfly interesting and so we stop and concentrate on the colours of the butterfly, and no longer notice the grass, people passing by etc. So one aspect of hypnosis is focusing in on one thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts.
To watch a fun demonstration of the above, watch the vido below, and count the number of passes the white team makes.
By focusing in one thing there is less to compare it against others. So if we concentrate on relaxation we no longer notice tension. If we focus in on the confident aspects of our personality we no longer notice the ‘weaker parts.
A second aspect of hypnosis is expectation. Expectation is that the body prepares itself for what will happen before it happens. If a person says I am going to hit you, the body prepares to take the hit. Muscles tense, adrenalin gets released. When you think about eating , even before you eat changes are occurring in your stomach, preparing for food. So the body and nervous system change before the event happens. And you can see from an evolutionary point of view this makes good sense. You want your body prepared and ready to run from the lion before it is actually is upon you. So the second part of hypnosis is what is expected to happen, the body prepares for it to happen, and because it is then prepared, when the event occurs the body responds in the way it is prepared to respond . When people go up on a stage show a large part of why they act the way they do is because they have been told what will happen and so the mind and body prepares itself for it to happen and then it does.
Another part of hypnosis is imagination. When your eyes are closed your unconscious mind isn’t aware of the difference between what you imagine and reality. This is easy to understand because everyone has had a dream. If it is a nightmare you may wake up feeling scared, or flustered, sweating, or anxious. However what you dreamed wasn’t real, it was all ‘in your head’ and yet you reacted as if it were real. So anther part of hypnosis is using your imagination, to trick your subconious into believing a new reality about you and the way you act.
The more you learn about hypnosis the more intesting it becomes, and it then becomes exciting to think of the ways you can apply it to your life.
