3 Things Most People Don’t Know About Hypnosis
October 10, 2022
What is hypnosis and how does it work? There are often three things that people don’t understand about what hypnosis is and how it actually works. Please allow me to lift the veil and explain these very things.
#1: Almost everyone can be hypnotized.
Here is what I often coach my clients to understand: Everyone can be hypnotized. (People who have a specific kind of traumatic brain injury, a severe form of Attention Deficit Disorder, or a personality disorder are examples of people who would have a difficult time being hypnotized.)
Often people think that it is something they can or cannot do, while all the while, your brain and body are absolutely geared toward being able to accomplish this very task. I often say that children are born into the world in a state of trance, because when you look at them, they are always learning, downloading, and soaking things up like a sponge.
So that is their brains being in a specific brain wave frequency, which I will talk more about in point number two. As long as you are able to listen to a voice (usually mine, LOL) or are able to follow instructions, you should have very few difficulties reaching a hypnotic state in your mind and body. I always tell people, “All Hypnosis is Self-Hypnosis,” which means that as long as you are willing and able to do so, and you follow instructions well, you will achieve a state of trance.
#2: Our brain wave frequency when meditating is the same as when we do hypnosis.
When you do meditation or are engage in deep prayer, you are allowing your Conscious mind to become more quiet and to drop into the background of your mental awareness. That is EXACTLY what hypnosis is. The only difference between Mediation and prayer is that you usually do those things by yourself with yourself, where when you do hypnosis you are doing that with someone like myself or another hypnotist.
We have 5 different brain wave frequencies that we work in. 1) Gamma – 2)Beta – 3) Alpha – 4) Theta and 5) Delta… Each one becomes increasingly slower and the frequency becomes lower too. For more information about these states, check out my blog post on this very topic.
When you do practiced meditation, you are generally in an Alpha brain wave state. The same could be true for deep thoughtful prayer. When you do Hypnosis you will be in and out of both Alpha and Theta brain wave states. What this allows you to do, is to push your conscious mind to the background (So it does not interfere with your change process) and to allow the Subconscious mind to come out to play.
The subconscious mind is where all of your feelings, emotions, beliefs, habits, triggers and trauma lie within the mind. The body can also hold onto trauma and stuck emotions too, but for today we are only talking about the brain. By being in the Alpha and Theta brain wave frequencies, we are then allowed to tap into our memories, our intuition and our emotions. This is where the real change occurs.
Earlier I mentioned that children sort of live in a state of trance between the ages of 0-7 that is because they are living in and out of Alpha and Theta brainwaves states so they can acquire new skills and download the environment around them. It isn’t until the ages of about 7 onward when the ID, EGO And SUPEREGO come in that they then come up to Beta as a more normal functioning state of their brain wave activity.
#3: Hypnosis is not done to you, it is done with and by you.
Most people think hypnosis is something that is done TO them! It is not, it is completely an allowance by the person who is working with a Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist to help guide them into that state of trance. As a practitioner of hypnosis, I have many different ways of assisting someone to get themselves into the state of Hypnosis. Usually I use a series of relaxation techniques, I use guided breathing or intentional breathwork and I often use visual imagery as well. I ask the person to use their own imagination and to pretend certain things are available to them as well, because the subconscious mind does not understand the difference between reality and the imagination. So with all of these things I can help someone connect to the body and to get their conscious mind out of the way.
When we work in the body with the energy of emotion and we use the subconscious mind, we can do amazing things to help create change. All that being said, it is not possible for me to make someone do something they do not morally or otherwise not believe in. No matter what suggestions I give, if you the individual do not agree with them, you will not take them on to be your own beliefs. So, it is nothing like the movies portray about brain control.
I do hope that my blog has cleared some misperceptions up and has helped you understand the 3 main principles around hypnosis.
1) That almost anyone can be hypnotized, 2) That hypnosis is the bi-product of a certain brainwave frequency and that 3) All Hypnosis is Self Hypnosis, meaning you allow it to happen to and for your own benefit. If you are intersted in experiencing the power of your brain and body connection, feel free to set up a free 30 minute consultation at this link!
