The United States Government, Dept. of Education, Human Services Division defines
hypnosis as “The by-pass of the critical factor of the conscious mind (a person’s analytical
and judgmental ability) followed by the establishment of acceptable selective thinking.”
(Suggestions and therapy that the client wants and feels good about.) Notice the absence
of the word relaxation in this definition. It has been discovered deep relaxation, in many cases,
is not needed to by-pass a client’s critical factor and achieve deep somnambulistic hypnosis.
It really doesn’t feel like anything. Most people simply feel mentally relaxed and as if they
are daydreaming in a focused way. Sometimes this is called a “trance” state and it is a state
we all experience several times a day. Some examples:
Remember driving your car and missing your exit because you were thinking other thoughts?
Remember arriving at your destination and wonder where the time went because you were focused on other thoughts?
Have you ever immersed yourself in a good book or a movie?
A person can be in hypnosis while running or dancing.
Everything, EVERYTHING, is a result of how we perceive it. We choose our reality, our thoughts
and our feelings. When you think you no longer have a choice about how you think or feel you are experiencing
a block that may be created by an emotional conflict. Hypnotherapy can find and release the block, allowing
you to have the freedom to think and feel the way you want to think and feel. Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis
for self-improvement and/or for therapeutic purposes. It feels great and it is a fast and permanent solution.
It feels great! Hypnosis is a natural state that feels similar to that feeling you get right before you fall
asleep at night. When you awaken, you feel refreshed and revitalized. You just feel as if you are relaxing in a
very comfortable space with your eyes closed. You can hear everything--my voice, the sounds outside the building,
a car going down the street outside, whatever. Think about it - your unconscious mind uses the same set of ears that
your conscious mind hears with! How effective would it be if, once you entered the trance state, you suddenly lost all
ability to hear the hypnotherapist's words? You're mindful the entire time, aware of everything going on around you as
well as what your unconscious is revealing to you. It’s like watching the TV in one room while a radio plays in another;
you can shift your awareness back and forth between the two, concentrating on one but still aware of the other.
Using words, a soothing tone, mental imagery and various exercises and techniques (such as deep breathing).
Rapid and instant inductions are used as well to induce a pleasant, lethargic state to begin with. During your
first session with me I present you with tests and convincers to help you to know you were hypnotized.
Most people can be hypnotized, and different people go into hypnosis in different ways. There is a common
idea that those with 'a strong will' cannot be hypnotized. It has been shown that intelligent people can be
hypnotized faster because they have greater access to their imagination, and can follow instructions. In fact,
those with an extremely low intelligence cannot be hypnotized at all. The biggest prerequisite to someone being
able to be hypnotized is their willingness to be hypnotized.
No, because no one under hypnosis can be induced to do anything against his or her will. Whatever moral
and ethical codes you hold in a normal waking state will still be in place under hypnosis. You can actually lie when
in hypnosis. Your unconscious mind was formed when you were about age five. Its job is to protect and help you. Just
like you cannot be made to do anything against your moral code, you will not say anything that is embarrassing and will
not reveal more than you are comfortable doing. Usually, if a hypnotherapist suggestion conflicts with a client's value
system, the client simply brings him or herself up out of hypnosis; they just "wake up." You are in complete control at
all times. Hypnotherapy is a gentle, loving process and hypnotherapists are trained to not judge. You will heal and change
in your own timing.
Again, you are not under any one’s control, even on stage. Think about a past show you’ve seen or maybe even participated in.
We all have expectations about what happens in them. If you’ve never been formally hypnotized before and went on stage you may be
expecting "fireworks." When that doesn't happen, you think, "Oh, it's not working on me," and STOP TRYING, you open your eyes and
sit there waiting to be let off the stage. The people who will do well as volunteers or participants are the people who do not
expect to be transported to another realm. They understand that they will still “know what's going on” and still “hear everything
the hypnotist says.” They stay with it and follow the hypnotist's instructions, even when they're not sure if it's working. Anyone
who volunteers is agreeing to play the part, whether they consciously admit it or not. For some, hypnosis (like alcohol) is a
convenient "excuse" to act out and not take responsibility for their behavior. Typically, extraverts volunteer to be in the show,
they enjoy being on display and readily agree to it.
You'll remember everything that is said and what you experience, or everything you need to remember. However, because
most clients receive a great deal of information it may take days, weeks or months to really process. I often encourage
you to write your experience down as soon as possible. As with any experience, it's not unusual to lose the subtler details
with the passage of time, and some of the patterns you uncover may not “click” into place until much later.
The most desirable state for doing the work is a deep state called hypnotic somnambulism (not to be confused with true
somnambulism, which is better known as sleep-walking). I will help guide you into this level during the first session
with me. You will achieve it, easily with my guidance, and it is a fact that the more hypnosis one undergoes, the
greater and easier one drops down into the altered state. It is a skill and like all skills – improves with practice.
Everyone of normal intelligence can be hypnotized, but one has to be willing to do it. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis,
which means if you want to do it, you will. The very small minority of people who have difficulty in a session are usually
those who don't really want to be hypnotized or can't relax and let go enough (perhaps fearing loss of control, which we
know is a myth, or fearing the unknown) to go with the experience. Some things you can do to increase your ability to go
under hypnosis easier and faster would be to practice meditation, visualization, yoga, or relaxation techniques.
Hypnosis was first officially recognized as a viable therapeutic tool by the British Government through the Hypnotism
Act in 1952. Then, in 1958 both the British and the American Medical Associations (AMA) sanctioned the official use of
hypnosis by physicians. In 1958, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) also approved hypnotherapy for use by
professionally responsible individuals.
Hypnosis helps change attitudes, which is the key to changing behavior. With hypnosis, a person is empowered, and made
independent enough to solve his/her own problems. With hypnosis a person can change behaviors that would otherwise seem
difficult, if not impossible, to change. The primary aim of hypnosis itself is self-healing, and self change.
The hypnotist's job is to assist the client to achieve those natural states of mind where healing and change best happen.
NLP is a unique model of how people learn, motivate themselves, and change their behavior to achieve excellence in any endeavor.
Neuro:
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Olfactory
Gustatory
Linguistic:
Pictures
Sounds
Feelings
Tastes
Smells
Words (Self Talk)
Linguistic also refers to our “silent language” of postures, gestures, and habits that reveal our thinking styles, beliefs, and more.
Programming:
The term “programming” which is borrowed from computer science simply implies that our habitual programs can be changed by upgrading our “mental software.”
NLP was initially created in the 1970’s by Richard Bandler a student of mathematics and gestalt therapy and John Grinder a Professor of Linguistics at the University of California Santa Cruz. They began modeling and duplicating the “magical results” of a few top communicators and therapists. Some of the first people they studied included Hypnotherapist Milton Erickson, gestalt therapist Fritz Perls and family therapist Virgina Satir. Since then, many others have contributed to the growth and development of the field.
It lets you model, or copy, human excellence in any form. With NLP, you can identify what makes someone exceptionally skilled and get that skill for yourself or teach it to others. NLP can help you become adept in whatever is important to you, whether that means getting along with your family and coworkers or being more effective on the job.
The map is not the territory. Mental maps especially feelings and interpretations, can be updated more easily than the world can be changed.
Experience has structure. Our thoughts and memories have a pattern to them. When we change that patter/structure, our experience will automatically change.
If one person can do something, anyone can learn to do it. We can learn an achiever’s mental map and make it our own.
People already have all the resources they need.
You cannot NOT communicate. We are always communicating, at least nonverbally.
The meaning of your communication is the response you get. Others receive what we say and do through their mental map of the world. Noticing how our communication is received allows us to adjust it, so that next time it can be clearer.
Underlying every behavior is a positive intention.
People are always making the best choice(s) available to them.
If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else. Do anything else.
Once we understand specifically how we create and maintain our inner thoughts and feelings with NLP we can easily learn how to:
Dissociate from your negative experiences and associate to your positive ones
Increase or decrease the importance of an inner thought image
Direct your thoughts where you want to go, not where you don’t want them to go
Neutralize negative feelings about past events with Movie Music and the Picture Frame technique
Create more resources for yourself by using your circle of Excellence to place them in your future when and where you will need or want them
NLP is valuable wherever human communications skills can enhance results – in business consultation, management, negotiation, education, counseling, therapy, relationships, parenting, nursing, public speaking, sports performance and many other areas.
Although NLP can be used as a method of therapy, the applications are much broader. Even when used as a therapy, it’s basically a process of teaching people how to use their brains. Most therapy is remedial, that is directed towards solving problems from the past. NLP goes much further to study excellence and teach the skills that promote positive change that generates new possibilities and opportunities.