I was preparing for exams when I discovered the life changing benefits of hypnosis in the 1960s. At the time Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had just landed on the moon; The Beatles were quite literally enchanted by metaphysical practices from the East and New Age therapies were all the rage in California. I needed a clear head, focus and a good memory. But instead I was plagued by migraines that blurred my vision, made me vomit and confined me to a darkened room.
What to do? I decided to give the new idea of auto-hypnosis a go. It was the only way to find out whether there was really something practical in it. Something that would help me achieve my goal of making the grade and passing the exams.
Well, there was something in it and I achieved my goal. Hypnosis on closer inspection turned out not to be a New Age thing at all. Although it became popular in the 1960s, first in the US and later in Europe, Hypnosis actually has a very long tradition. And it certainly can create surprisingly quick change with long lasting benefits. Yet there are many people with misconceptions, muddled by jargon, hyperbole, gimmicks and Stage Hypnosis. Clinical Hypnotherapy is something else entirely. So, it’s always useful to understand the true meaning of some of the terminology used. Here are 5 definitions to get you started:
Conscious refers to that aspect of our mind that thinks critically, rationally, logically. It is working when we are alert and aware.
Unconscious refers to the aspect of our mind that is working all the time. It produces our dreams; is responsible for our feelings and creativity; regulates bodily functions; contains our perceptions, memories and wisdom; it controls our habits and habitual ways of thinking.
NLP is an educational tool which teaches people how to communicate more effectively with themselves and with others. It is designed to help people to have personal freedom in the way they think, feel and behave so they can improve the quality of their lives.
Hypnosis is the process of guiding a person into a state where they have more direct access to their unconscious mind, the part of us where powerful changes can be made deliberately and skillfully.
Trance is the state commonly experienced as a result of hypnosis. It is characterised by focus of thought.
Do you realise that we live in many different trance states all the time? Most are pleasant and harmless. But there are also the upsetting trances where we go back, over and over, remembering and re-living past unpleasantness, feelings of loss, anxiety, fear, pain or sadness. Yet, there is always more than one way of looking at a situation and more than one way to think about it. You can be free and discover a different YOU. You can have real presence in the NOW. I have watched my clients achieve this for more than twenty years now. Believe me, it’s a truly life-changing process.