Understanding Hypnosis

He doesn't understand hypnosis, does he?

Welcome to the Wonderful Possibilities of Hypnosis!

In order for you to get the most benefit from this exciting process, you need to understand it.
Understand what it is, what it isn't, and how you will use it to create positive results in your life. It will help you "make the change that makes the difference", feeling better, looking your best, and confidently achieving your goals. With understanding comes trust in the process. And even more importantly, trust in your natural ability to experience amazing transformation using the power of your own subconscious mind.

"When one moves confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."                                     -- Henry David Thoreau

What Hypnosis Is

Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state of consciousness that you already experience many times during your day. For example, as your body relaxes before sleep each night your mind also relaxes and conscious thoughts sort of drift away. You are perfectly aware of where you are and can protect yourself if you hear worrisome noises but you are choosing to let go of thoughts. This also happens in meditation when the attention is so focused on an image, a phrase, or the breath that the conscious mind gets quieter.

Notice how the chatter of your conscious mind is also turned down when you are engrossed in music, dancing, or a really good story. During all of these examples you are extra "suggestible". Suggestions given to you are more likely to be accepted as fact because you are less likely to examine them with your critical mind which is now relaxed.

When the imagination is captured and emotions are aroused, you are in a natural hypnotic trance.
Television is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Is most television programming calm, logical, and realistic? No! TV's imaginative stories filled with emotion, passion, and even violence! In this natural hypnotic state you are then more likely to buy the products advertised ("suggested"). And are the commercials straight forward and fact filled so that you'll use your critical thinking to evaluate the products -or- do they stimulate your imagination with quick images, sounds, and sensual impressions? All of this is hypnosis.

You can easily reach this relaxed physical and mental state and accept into your subconscious mind positive suggestions for change.
The difference in the above examples and therapeutic hypnosis sessions (Hypnotherapy) is that by coming to this office you are choosing hypnosis! Therefore, hypnosis in the office is perfectly safe. It is a completely natural state and the sessions use suggestions that you have chosen. These are suggestions that improve your behavior, feelings, and beliefs about yourself for your maximum well-being and personal growth.

"Imagination is more than knowledge. Imagination is your preview of coming events."                                         -- Albert Einstein

What Hypnosis Is Not

Hypnosis is not sleep.
Brain wave pictures show that hypnosis and sleep are completely different states. It is possible to fall asleep during hypnosis if you are extremely tired but then the session would not be as effective. Some people are afraid they won't "wake up" after hypnosis. That is impossible since they aren't asleep in the first place! For this reason the hypnotist doesn't say "sleep" and "wake up" but rather "go into hypnosis" and then "emerge". If the hypnotist happened to walk away, you would gradually emerge by yourself. And if a fire broke out, you would instantly emerge and know what to do! You aren't asleep. As a matter of fact, your senses are acutely aware and your imagination is wonderfully active.

Are you concerned that the hypnotist can control you and implant negative or embarrassing suggestions?
There is absolutely no way that your subconscious mind would accept anything that is dangerous or against your personal morals. Its primary job is to protect you. You would instantly reject any unacceptable suggestions. For this reason, I have you think about your positive suggestions for change -- what it is that you want. When I skillfully give these to you with imagination and emotion in hypnosis and you wholeheartedly welcome them in, the magic of transformation begins.

Hypnosis stage shows reinforce the false belief that the hypnotist controls the subjects.
Why else would someone quack like a duck on stage? In fact, this is a perfect example of how hypnosis is an "allowing" rather than a "controlling" state. Volunteers are usually class-clown types who don't mind appearing foolish in front of friends and allow themselves to accept the silly suggestions. After passing hypnotizability tests, the most suggestible members of the audience are kept on stage and the others sent back to their seats. I don't know about you, but I would have stayed in my seat!

Some people are worried that they will tell the hypnotist their deepest darkest secrets against their will. Wrong!
You only tell what you need to tell in order to heal or solve a problem. In hypnosis your memory is amazing and you have access to all sorts of insights. You share these as is appropriate. As a Certified Hypnotherapist and physician I am bound by a professional code of ethics to not reveal any of the confidential communication outside of the session. The two of us have a therapeutic relationship such as you have with your doctor.

How Hypnosis Works

When the famous bank robber Willie Sutton was put in jail, someone asked him, "Willie, why do you rob banks?" Duh! He replied, "Because that's where the gold is." And that's why I use hypnosis, because the subconscious mind is where the "gold" is. It's where your vast potential for positive change and creative possibilities resides.

You don't have to understand how hypnosis works in order to be hypnotized. After all, hypnosis is a natural state of mind which you already experience many times a day. But it really helps to appreciate the limitations of the conscious mind and the amazing power of the subconscious mind.

Imagine an iceberg. All you see is the tip -- the conscious mind -- which is what we think we are. It is actually very small. But underneath conscious awareness is the enormous subconscious mind which contains our beliefs and controls our feelings, thoughts, and actions.

The Conscious Mind has Useful Qualities

• It uses short-term memory. This allows us to function throughout the day, remembering our appointments, friends' names, and where we put our keys.


• It is very logical and analytical and reasons out solutions to problems. It is rational and assumes we have good reasons for why we do what we do. Unfortunately, it is often wrong! For example, it may claim, "I smoke because it helps me with stress". The real cause of the smoking, perhaps acceptance by a teenage peer group, is very deep in the subconscious. It's often wise to disregard the conscious mind which is all too ready to give a logical and incorrect reason!


• It contains our short-lived will-power. Unfortunately, we tend to rely on our puny conscious mind to make changes in our lives by appealing to its willpower. We all know just how weak willpower is! It has very noble intentions with New Year's resolutions but loses its steam before the month is out! Shallow and ineffective.

The Subconscious Mind Defines Who We Are

• Our permanent memory is in the subconscious mind and stores an enormous amount of information. In hypnosis we can access it and remember in vivid detail, for example, what we wore in first grade, where we put lost objects, etc...


• The subconscious mind is like a vast computer which operates by the programming we put in to it. It turns us into anything we believe ourselves to be--rich, poor, fat, skinny, smoker, or nonsmoker... This computer is programmed most powerfully in early childhood. These beliefs about ourselves and the world then tend to run our adult show. Grownups who were told they were clumsy or dumb or absolutely wonderful as children continue to act that way. Our beliefs about whether the world is a safe or scary place also largely depends on early programming. We may continue to use food as comfort, be afraid of dogs, or become workaholics out of a need for approval years after the original cause for these insecurities are over. And the conscious mind is left scratching its head in bewilderment--"Why do I do these things?"


• The subconscious mind also contains our emotions. These feelings bubble up in dreams, in creative projects, in relationships, and at the oddest irrational moments when someone pushes an old button. "Why am I feeling this way?" we ask ourselves, unaware of our old emotional programming and triggers.


• The subconscious mind makes our lives easier by running on automatic habits. The conscious mind does not have to think about how to get to get to the grocery store. It can think about something else while the subconscious mind drives the familiar route. We also brush our teeth, get dressed, and go through the motions of the day based on habits stored in the subconscious mind. The problem with this is that it is difficult to change habits, as our New Year's Eve willpower discovers.

The Subconscious Mind Resists Change

• It is very lazy and does not want to accept suggestions for change. It's sort of like a train running down a familiar track. It wants to keep running down that track and it takes a really big effort to get it onto another track. This is because the nerve cells in the brain got connected together over time and made an automatic pattern for our reactions, behaviors, feelings and thoughts. We call these patterns "habits".


• The main reason for this resistance to change is that the primary function of the subconscious mind is self-preservation. Change is perceived as scary. Our protective subconscious mind wants us to keep on being who we were programmed to be because it feels safer. This self-protective feature can be frustrating when we really want positive change! It is also an important safeguard in hypnosis because even when you are deep in trance it prevents you from doing anything against your morals or well-being and can bring you out of hypnosis if necessary.

And It's Also the Powerhouse for Change!

• Why? Because it's enormous! It's like the immense part of the ice-berg below the water line -- below conscious awareness. And because it contains all our beliefs, patterns and motivations. It directs the show!


• But we must bypass the "critical factor" in order to communicate with the subconscious mind and change the programming. This "critical factor" is like a filter which all information and instructions must pass through before getting deep into the subconscious mind. The critical factor analyzes the data and compares it to what it already thinks is true about you and the world. It then either accepts it or rejects it. For example, if I told you, "This computer screen is pink", your critical factor says, "No!" and the suggestion gets no further. If you believe yourself to be a smoker or a failure or hopelessly overweight and someone says you aren't, your critical factor bounces that suggestion right back. The old programming stays intact. Unfortunately, the critical factor wants to keep things the way they are! Good or bad.


• Hypnosis works by bypassing the critical factor. That's all hypnosis is. Under the expert guidance of the Hypnotherapist, you allow yourself to turn down the volume of the conscious mind, turn up the volume of the subconscious mind, and the critical factor just relaxes into the background. I then give you the suggestions for change that you have chosen and you begin the process of transformation.


• All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, sort of like guided daydreaming. The Hypnotherapist is here to facilitate your ability to change but the power of choice is yours. And it must be your free choice, not that of your family, friends or physician. Of course you may have a part of you that don't want to change! Your wise-self may want to stop smoking or lose weight while a rebellious or insecure part in your subconscious mind wants to continue the old habits. I guide all of these parts to work together for your highest good. But your overriding desire must be to change.

"Knowledge is power."                                         -- Francis Bacon

Only Three Things to Know for Successful Hypnosis

1. Everyone can be hypnotized because it is a completely natural state.

You already go in and out of this state of relaxed focused attention all day long. In our sessions you simply follow my directions to gradually, safely and comfortably relax and use your imagination. If you do this, then nothing can keep you from going into hypnosis. I've never had a client who couldn't go into hypnosis, as long as they understood and trusted the process.

One gentleman did open his eyes and protest, "It's not working!" (Because he hadn't read this explanation.) I replied, "That's OK. Just pretend its working." And he quit his 3 pack a day smoking habit in just one session! You can easily do hypnosis too.

2.You are in control at all times.

I don't want to feel controlled or "brain washed" and most clients don't either. So, I remind you that you are in control. You know where you are and what is going on, just like watching a television show. You can scratch your nose, move your body, or talk to me. You can choose whether or not to accept a suggestion. If I ever gave you a suggestion you hadn't agreed to beforehand, and I'm extremely careful not to, you would reject it if you didn't want it.

But being in control also means that you are responsible. When I give you a suggestion that you say you want, please don't say to yourself, "I hope it works." "Hope" and "try" mean failure. The only belief and feeling you need to have is, "I like it and I know it's going to work!" Maybe you have to fake it until you make it or act as if it's true -- that's OK. Remember, I am your guide but only a guide and you are in charge. A single thought to leave this beautiful relaxed state and you can choose to be back to your normal conscious mind.

3. Whatever it feels like is right for you.

While you are in hypnosis please do not ask yourself whether or not you are in hypnosis! This uses the conscious analytical mind and lessens the effectiveness of the session. Hypnosis feels different to different people and at different times. Hypnosis is a 100% consent state by you. You simply allow it to happen.

Hypnosis can feel both physically relaxed and mentally aware and focused. It can be a very light trance, like listening to a good story. You may hear every word I say, like the man in the cartoon at the top. You may hear sounds around you or random thoughts may come and go. But you simply don't care about those sounds or thoughts and you return to listening to my voice. This is the light state you are in while watching the commercials on TV and they are hypnotic suggestions! Or you might experience a very deeply relaxed state of mind and body in which you don't consciously remember anything I say but your subconscious takes it all in. It really does not matter if you are light or deep. Just let it be what it is and you'll do fine.

Remember: the subconscious mind is like a garden.

All the seeds are there, positive and negative. If we (or our parents, society, or the media) water a seed over and over it grows into a habit. These seeds are our enormous potential and we alone can choose which ones to water with hypnosis. Which would you like to choose? And when?

Congratulations on considering this marvelous experience for yourself! It's a fascinating journey with limitless possibilities.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance: it's a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for: it's a thing to be achieved."                                         -- William Jennings Bryan

More questions? Click on Frequent Questions or call me for a FREE phone consultation.

Interested in scientific research articles? Click on Scientific Research.

Want to schedule your first session? Click on Scheduling Your Session.

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