What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind characterized by an extraordinary state of relaxation (physically, mentally, and emotionally) in which there is a heightened awareness and focus and an open responsiveness to suggestion. It’s important to understand that hypnosis is a perfectly normal, natural state of mind (the alpha state) that everyone experiences every day of their lives. And when we are in this state of mind, the potential for making changes or creating new patterns of behavior is greatly increased. It’s increased because both levels of our mind (conscious and subconscious) are present and much more focused and responsive to any directions or suggestions.
Our subconscious is more focused during hypnosis because it’s not anywhere near as busy as it is during our normal, walking around awake state (the beta state of mind). In our walking around, awake state, our subconscious mind is extremely busy. It records everything we take in through our five senses; it is responsible for and directs all the involuntary functions of the body (breathing; blood circulation; digestion; elimination; etc.), and automatically carries out all of our habituated patterns of behavior. As you can see, a lot of multitasking is going on with our subconscious during our awake state. And because of this, our mind is a bit scattered and our potential for highly focused, effective creation is limited. But when we become quiet, close our eyes and begin to breathe deeply and relax, the more powerful aspect of our mind (the subconscious) comes forward in a highly focused, aware, and sensitive (or receptive) state—perfectly primed for our suggestions.
Most hypnosis takes place when we are in the alpha brainwave state. This is a state of mind where our brainwaves slow down to 8-13 Hz (or cycles per second). We are in the alpha state several times a day. When we are engrossed in a novel, a television program, or a daydream to such an extent that our awareness is fixed on the specific subject of our attention, we are in the alpha state of mind. If you happen to be driving home from work and you suddenly realize you’ve been off in a daydream, you might ask yourself who’s been driving your car. Your mind was highly focused on your daydream to the exclusion of everything else—including driving your car. This is very much like a hypnosis experience in that your mind is highly focused and attentive to a very specific subject (your daydream). So, who was driving your car? Your subconscious mind, that’s who. You see, you’ve trained your subconscious to drive your car just as you’ve trained it to carry out all of your habituated patterns of behavior. Of course, it would probably be best for all of us if we could try daydreaming at a more appropriate time and place than out in traffic. When you fall asleep at night, alpha is the state of mind you are in right before you fall asleep. And once you fall asleep, your alpha state deepens before you drift down into the theta brainwave state—the state of mind where light sleep and dreams occur. Alpha is a normal, natural state of mind; the state of mind most associated with hypnosis.
Hypnosis is quite an amazing tool for creation and transformation. And what sets hypnosis apart as a tool for creation is that it utilizes the optimal state of mind in which the creative process has the potential for peak efficiency. It’s the optimal state of mind for successful creation because the conscious mind (the analytical, rational, judgmental part of the mind), while still very much present, has taken a bit of a backseat and the subconscious mind (the part of the mind open to suggestion) has come to the forefront in a heightened state of awareness. And remember, the subconscious is that part of our mind that automatically carries out our habits. And it does this based on what we’ve fed our subconscious mind throughout the years. And it will continue to faithfully carry out our habits, even though our conscious mind might be ready for a change, until we direct our subconscious to change our belief systems and our habituated behavior. Hypnosis offers us the best opportunity to change our beliefs because it creates the state of mind most conducive to communicating effectively with our subconscious. In order for us to make changes in our lives, we must get both our conscious mind and our subconscious mind on the same page. And hypnosis offers us the best chance to do that.
The extraordinary state of relaxation experienced during hypnosis creates a specific mental state of mind in which we have the opportunity to convince our subconscious that a change is in order. And if we truly desire to make a change, then convincing the subconscious mind is critically important. Now that we have some understanding of what hypnosis is, it’s time to take a closer look at how hypnosis works.
What is Hypnosis?
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